NB
1140
·F59
1881
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A 963,324

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PLURIBDI UNU
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
CIRCUMSPICE
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meth
Esq., the Rev. Chauncey Goodrich, Prof.
Lyman, Prof. Whitney, and Prof. Gilman,
with the assistance and under the super-
intendence of Prof, Goodrich.
3. Scientific and Technical Terms.-
In order to secure the utmost completeness
and accuracy of definition, this department
has been subdivided among eminent
Scholars and Experts, including Prof. Dana,
Prof. Lyman, &c.
unw
VERIS PENINSULAM-AMŒENAM
4. Etymology.The eminent philo-
logist, Dr. C. F. MAHN, has devoted five
years to perfecting this department.
T
SCIENTIA
OF THE
THE GIFT OF
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quotations from standard auɩnors as may
throw light on the definitions, or pos-
sess any special interest of thought or
language.
8. The Synonyms.-These are sub-
Joined to the words to which they belong,
and are very complete.
9. The Illustrations, which exceed 3000,
are inserted, not for the sake of ornament,
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The Volume contains 1628 pages, more than 3000 Illustrations, and is sold
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Volumes ever issued. Cloth, 21s.; half-bound in calf, 30s.; calf or half-russia,
31s. 6d.; russia, £2.
To be obtained through all Booksellers.
we want to tag.
NB
1140
.F59
1881
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{

Portrait of Flaxman from a model by himself
UNIV
OF
MIC
LECTURES
ON
SCULPTURE,
AS DELIVERED BEFORE THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE
ROYAL ACADEMY.
BY
JOHN FLAXMAN, ESQ., R.A..
PROFESSOR OF SCULPTURE IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF GREAT BRITAIN,
MEMBER OF THE ACADEMIES OF ST. LUKE, ROME,
FLORENCE, CARRARA, ETC.
WITH AN INTRODUCTORY LECTURE, AND TWO ADDRESSES TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY
ON THE DEATH OF THOMAS BANKS, IN 1805, AND OF ANTONIO CANOVA,
IN 1822, AND AN ADDRESS ON THE DEATH OF FLAXMAN,
BY SIR RICHARD WESTMACOTT, R.A.
WITH FIFTY-THREE PLATES.
NEW EDITION.
LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS,
YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1881.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
iz
90
Gif
ham P. W. Kelsey
6-1-32-
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR
ADDRESS
INTRODUCTION
LECTURE I. ENGLISH SCULPTURE.
II. EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE
III. GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
IV. SCIENCE
V. BEAUTY
VI. COMPOSITION
VII. STYLE
VIII. DRAPERY.
IX. ANCIENT ART.
X. MODERN SCULPTURE
ADDRESS ON THE DEATH OF THOMAS BANKS
ADDRESS ON THE DEATH OF CANOVA
""
""
""
""
99
CONTENTS.
["
""
•
•
"
A
PAGE
1
17
19
32
54
78
101
125
143
168
198
215
240
275
300
ADVERTISEMENT.
MR. FLAXMAN'S Lectures on Sculpture having been
long out of print, and become very scarce, the Pub-
lishers have been induced to undertake a New Edition,
in a reduced form, and at a price within the means
of every Student of Art.
In preparing this Edition, a few minor errors have
been corrected, but the Lectures are in every other
respect the same as when first delivered by the
illustrious Author.
In reproducing the illustrations, some pains were
taken to get access to the original drawings used by
Flaxman in his Lectures. Such as could be obtained
were not found available; the Publishers, therefore,
have gone in all cases where it was possible to the
original objects themselves, or to the best copies they
could obtain.
The engravings from Wells Cathedral are taken
from photographs, and may therefore be accepted as
more accurate than the drawings in the First Edition.
vii
EXTRACTS FROM SIR RICHARD WESTMACOTT'S
FIRST LECTURE,
DELIVERED AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY
ON HIS SUCCESSION TO THE CHAIR OF PROFESSOR Of Sculpture,
AFTER THE DEATH OF FLAXMAN,
"BUT, gentlemen, I feel that I should be justly
accused of want of duty, and of inattention to the
Royal Academy, to you, and indeed to our national
glory, if I were to suffer this introduction to pass
without offering publicly that tribute to the memory
of your late lamented Professor which his great
talents so eminently call for. His works are before
the world; and his excellencies and defects now
await that public decree which is to assign him his
just place in the Republic of Art.
"If to have procured esteem whilst living, and to
have rendered himself useful to his fellow-labourers,
both by his practice and the examples he has left us,
demand applause, few men have died with stronger
claims on posterity.
"The chief qualities which distinguished him as
an artist were feeling and purity of style; he was
skilled in the intellectual part of his art, and never
suffered unnecessary display to weaken the effect
of his conceptions: emulous of fame, he sought it
on the unerring principles of the best models of
antiquity, the only legitimate road by which it could
be attained. His whole life was devoted to his pro-
Vill
Westmacott's Lecture.
fession; he early habituated himself to the study
of nature, and few applied that study more success-
fully, or directed his art more happily to those
appeals for which it is more particularly suited;
none excelled him in the learning of his art; and
from his study of the best authors of antiquity, his
mind became stored with their images, and imbued
with their sentiment. During his studies at Rome
he produced those masterly illustrations of Homer,
Hesiod, and Eschylus, which place him as the first
Designer since the revival of Sculpture: these
works evince a thorough knowledge of the princi-
ples of his art, and whether considered for compo-
sition, and the laws which govern it, for their
acquaintance with the usages and customs of the
ancients, or for their erudition, afford most valuable
examples, and must always be consulted with ad-
vantage.
..
In a very short period classical sculpture has
been deprived of two of its brightest supports, and
you, gentlemen, have lost a most able instructor ;
but neither Italy nor England, in deploring the loss.
of Canova or Flaxman, can consider them exclusive
privations. All Europe justly claims the kindred,
and acknowledges the loss.
66
To Canova Italy owes her emancipation from
those false perceptions which had from the influence
of the Bernini school, so long diverted the current
of pure taste. The evil was felt, but the genius
was wanting to establish the true style: the works
which followed the Bernini school were powerless
imitations, without either character or decision, and
from their sameness were equally intolerable with the
fantastic conceits and exaggerations of the former
Westmacott's Lecture.
ix
“Canova's Dædalus, though a youthful produc-
tion, showed the value of attention to nature; but
his statue of Theseus re-established Sculpture on
its true basis, and he was hailed as the restorer of
legitimate art.
To Flaxman the art owes equal obligation.
Banks had corrected the grosser impurities, and
successfully stemmed the torrent of false taste; but
Flaxman not only supported the purity of Sculpture,
but carried us within the dominion of Poetry, and
taught us its value in art; he boldly passed the
barrier which had so long encircled sculpture, and
walked freely into the regions of invention. His
admiration of simplicity made him regard it in
whatever age or examples he discovered it, and gave
a general character of originality to his own works,
but which it must not be denied sometimes carried
him into too close a resemblance of the productions
of the earlier revivers of the art.

But the faults which may be imputed to him are
indeed no others than the excess of great and acknow-
ledged beauties; such as a poetical imagination, a
devoted admiration of purity, and a warm and
enthusiastic genius inspire.
"In comparing and estimating artists who have
made the higher department of the profession their
study, we ought not to oppose them by forming a
judgment of the whole from any particular passages
in their works, but to consider their distinguishing
characters, and weigh the aggregate of their respec-
tive qualities.
"No modern Sculptor has entered so deeply into
the recesses of ancient art as Flaxman. His style was
founded upon their principles combined with the
X
Westmacott's Lecture.
simplicity of the Pisani, and others of the fourteenth
century; whilst that of Canova was an union of
the ideal with Nature. The one attracts us by the
originality and sweetness of his invention, the other
delights us with a delicacy and beauty peculiar to
himself. Execution was with Flaxman subservient
to invention, whilst Canova suffered invention to be
subordinate, and seduces us by the luxuriance of
execution. Each equally felt what belonged to the
dignity of Art: simple in their arrangements, sparing
in ornament, so that the eye should not be dis-
tracted by the pomp of extraneous or unnecessary
matter

"We have two eminently successful examples in
Sepulchral Monuments by these Sculptors; the one
to a Pope the other to a Judge, in which this prin-
ciple of feeling is obvious. The class of composi-
tion is the same; both are pyramidal, the subject or
principal figure occupying the upper region or apex
of the triangle, the accessories forming the base:
here no more is done than is intended to convey to
the spectator the qualities which distinguished the
great men whose characters were proposed to be
recorded; and if we are arrested by the power and
freedom of execution in the principal statue, or by
the grace of the accessories in Ganganelli's monu-
ment, we are not less charmed with the noble sim-
plicity and classical forms in that of Lord Mans-
field.
"The most distinguished proof of Flaxman's
powers in Heroical Composition, and the strongest
mark of his genius, may be discovered in the
colossal group of “ "St. Michael subduing Satan,"
now in the gallery of the Earl of Egremont at Pet.
Westmacott's Lecture.
xi
worth, an attempt as successful as daring in colum
nar grouping, and which affords an example of the
difficulties imposed not only by material, but by the
nature of the subject, being overcome without a
recourse to adventitious aid, by which the eye or
mind might be diverted from the impression pro-
posed, and is strictly within the limits enjoined by
Sculpture. I consider it indeed a work not less
skilful in the arrangement of its composition than
great in its conception. The Archangel is pro-
duced in the spirit of the art itself; his countenance
denotes a generous indignation tempered by angelic
nature; there is an ardour and energy revolving
around him which might be supposed to influence
him in the execution of his Divine mission; we
want no type or wings, but at once admit his pre-
sence. The character of the whole is finely marked,
and possesses in the choice and structure of form,
and in the unity of expression and action, all the
ideal qualities appropriate to the exalted subject.
"In the personification of Satan he has been not
less succesful. Half-monster and half-man, with
all the characterists of mighty stature and Titanic
strength, in the malignant subtlety and inflexibility
of purpose, in expression, and in the writhing action
of the demon, we see him evidently withheld by the
presence of a Divine power, in which he is no longer
able to sustain himself.
In alto- or basso-relievo, Flaxman, since the
revival of the art, stood pre-eminent. The illus-
trations from the Lord's Prayer are fine examples
of his talents in the simply natural, and in the heroic
style in the former; whilst the latter is powerfully
displayed in the unrivalled composition of the Shield
xii
Westmacott's Lecture.
of Achilles. If examined as compositions by the
test of analysis or separation, they will bear the
strictest scrutiny; if contemplated for the character
each bears to the subject, we would not desire more
perfect harmony; if regarded for form, grace, and
the taste which pervade the whole, we may pronounce
it a work worthy to be ranked with the distinguished
discoveries at Dodona."
In a subsequent Lecture delivered by Sir Richard
Westmacott, at the Royal Academy, occurs the following
passage relating to Flaxman :—
"But the greatest of modern sculptors was our
illustrious countryman, John Flaxman, who not only
had all the fine feeling of the ancient Greeks (which
Canova in a degree possessed), but united to it a
readiness of invention, and a simplicity of design,
truly astonishing. Though Canova was his superior
in the manual part, high finishing, yet in the higher
qualities, poetical feeling and invention, Flaxman
was as superior to Canova as Shakspeare to the
dramatists of his day."
LIST OF PLATES.
FRONTISPIECE.-A Portrait of the Author, from a Model by
himself.
1. Bishop Wulstan, in Worcester Cathedral.
2. Creation of Eve, from Wells Cathedral.
3. Death of Isaac,
4. An Angel,
5. Queen Eleanor, from her monument in Westminster Abbey.
6. Virgin and Angels, a Key-stone, entrance to the choir, York
Cathedral.
do.
do.
7. St. John, from Henry the Seventh's Chapel, Westminster
Abbey.
8. Statues in the Architecture of do.
9. Plan of the Palace of Carnac.
10. Figure of Bubaste or Isis, in the character of the Terrestrial
Diana, who is also Cybele or Earth; and, like the Diana
of Ephesus, crowned with Towers.
11. The Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Memphis.
12. Sculpture at Persepolis, most likely Cambyses or Darius
Hystaspes from Le Bruyn's Travels.
13. Vishnu, Creating Agent of Brahma, Attitude of the Emblem
of Eternity, from Moore's "Hindu Pantheon."
14. Lions over the Gate of Mycena, mentioned by Pausanias as
being done by the Cyclops, a work of the Heroic age-
the meaning is symbolical, Lions support and protect this
pillar of the people of Mycena or of Achaia.
xir
List of Plates.
15. A bronze figure of Minerva, found in the barrow of Achilles,
described by M. Chevalier. Sphinxes, besides the astro-
nomical symbol of Leo and Virgo, are symbolic of
wisdom-Homer's Heroes called Horse-tamers.
16. Dædalian Figures from Bronzes.
17. Minerva, from a Bronze by Dædalus.
18. Tydeus.
19. Minerva, by Phidias, thirty-nine feet high.
20. Jupiter Olympius, at Elis, by do.
21. Venus (Aphrodite), by Alcamenes.
22. Venus of Cnidos, by Praxiteles, drawn from an Antique
Statue found near Rome.
23. Venus of Cos, by Praxiteles. Medals of the Empress Lucilla,
perhaps from this Statue.
24. Discobolus, by Myron, from a Gem, an Example in the
British Museum.
25. Statue on the Pediment over the West Front of a Temple at
Egina.
26. Circle and Square of the Human Figure.
27. Extent of Motion, one Figure.
28. Do. shown in two Figures.
29. Do. front and side view equipoised, supported on one Leg,
with its proportions.
30. Preparing to run; running; striking.
31. Bearing a weight; raising a weight; preparing to jump, and
alighting.
32. Leaning, flying, and falling.
33. Brazen Serpent, from Michael Angelo.
34. Charity,
from
35. The Nativity,
do.
}
from Greek Paintings in the Libra
ries of Austria and France.
36. The Transfiguration,
37. Part of the Last Judgment, by Michael Angelo.
38. Holy Family,
39. Last Judgment, south entrance to Lincoln Cathedral.
from
do.
40. Figure, Gateway of the Bishop's palace, Peterborough Cathe-
dral, towards 1400.
41. An Apostle, from Albert Durer.
42. Drapery.
43. Drapery on the Bosom and Legs.
List of Plates.
XV
44. Drapery, four Figures, a Bacchante and three from Nature.
45. Callirrhoe, from a Gem.
46. Iris.
47. Juno Lucina.
48. Head of the Colossus of Rhodes.
49. Head of Our Saviour, from Arringhi's "Roma Subterranea."
50. Specimens of two Heads, Chapter House, Cathedral of York.
time of Edward the Second or Third.
51. Monument of Sir Francis Vere, in Westminster Abbey.
52. Tomb of Langhalin.
The anecdote concerning this monument is this:-M. Ver-
schoffel, a Prussian Sculptor, was on a visit to the Rev. M.
Langhahn in Switzerland, when Madame Langhahn died on
Easter Eve. M. Verschoffel, to console his afflicted friend,
immediately carved the lady and her new-born infant, bursting
the tomb in the resurrection of the just. It has been introduced
on account of the pious and affectionate sentiment it contains.
A BRIEF MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
THE
HE best history of the talents of an artist is to be
found by the study of his principal works; for in
those are usually displayed the qualities of his mind,
the nature of his studies, and the depth of his know-
ledge; and when the subjects are chosen by himself,
they are fair transcripts of his thoughts and affec-
tions, and present as true a reflex of his heart and
feelings as a clear mirror would the features of his
face. Never was this more strongly exemplified
than in the present instance. Wherever in the
works of Flaxman are found the representations of
wisdom, magnanimity, piety, or any of the Chris-
tian virtues and charities that exalt human nature,
they were the personifications of similar qualities in
himself.
This excellent man and admirable artist was
born on the 6th of July, 1755, in the city of York,
where his father at that time resided, but which he
quitted while his son was yet an infant. He very
early gave indications of that observation and love
R
2
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
*
for works of art, which distinguished him in maturer
life. One of the first instances was shewn on the
coronation day of his Majesty George the Third.
His father was going to see the procession, and the
child begged very earnestly that he would bring one
of the medals which were to be thrown to the popu-
lace; he was not fortunate enough to get one; but,
on his way home, happening to find a plated button
bearing the stamp of a horse and jockey, rather than
wholly disappoint his little boy, who then was in a
very delicate precarious state of health, he ventured,
though unwillingly, to deceive him, and gave him
the button. The young virtuoso took it and was
thankful, but remarked, it was a very odd device
for a coronation medal. He was then five years
old; at this age he was fond of examining the
seals of every watch he saw, whether belonging
to friend, or stranger, and kept a bit of soft wax
ready to take an impression of any which pleased
him. These trivial circumstances are only men-
tioned to shew how early he began the practice of
seizing every opportunity of improvement in his art,
and of acquiring any knowledge it was right for him
to possess; indeed, it was a maxim of his, that “ we
never are too young or too old to become wiser or
better."
While yet a child he made a great number of
small models, both in plaster-of-Paris, wax, and clay;
* A very short time previous to this he had been so ill that he
was supposed to be dead, and was laid out under that impression.
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
3
some of which are still preserved, and have consi-
derable merit, and were certainly promises of that
genius and talent which he faithfully kept in after-
years.
When he was about ten years of age, his health
had greatly improved; and, though not strong, he
had become a lively active boy, with great enthu-
siasm of character, which chiefly displayed itself on
subjects of generosity, courage, and humanity: this
enthusiasm was called forth, in a peculiar and some-
what diverting manner, by reading Don Quixote.
He was so much delighted with the amiable, though
eccentric hero, and with his account of the duties
and honourable perils of knight-errantry, that he
thought he could not do better than sally forth, to
right wrongs and redress grievances; accordingly,
one morning early, unknown to any one, armed
with a little French sword (not better than a toy),
he set out, without a squire, in quest of adventures
which fortunately he did not find.
After wandering about Hyde Park the whole day
without meeting enchanter or distressed damsel, not
even a castle or drawbridge, he (being rather hungry
and more ashamed of his romantic flight) returned
home, where his unwonted absence had caused great
alarm to his parents, who had sought and inquired
fruitlessly for him till evening. He never again
emulated the exploits of the knight, though he
always retained a great admiration of his character.
He now modelled and drew most assiduously, but
4
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
never received more than two lessons from a master,
being hurt at having (according to rule) a drawing
of eyes only given him to copy, which having done,
he shewed them to Mr. Mortimer, a very clever
artist, who asked if they were flounders ?—this jest
not being at all encouraging, his father allowed him
to choose his examples, and pursue his studies in
his own way, which he did so successfully, that at
the age of eleven years and five months he gained
his first prize from the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Arts, &c. (which was the silver pallet), for
a model. At thirteen he had another; and the fol-
lowing year was admitted a student at the Royal
Academy, then newly established; and the same
year received their silver medal.
About this time he made an acquaintance equally
agreeable and serviceable; it was with a very worthy
clergyman, whose wife was one of the most highly-
gifted and elegant women of that day; she was the
intimate associate of Mrs. Montague, Mrs. Barbauld,
Mrs. Chapone, Mrs. Brooke, &c. At this house,
where he was for many years a welcome visitor, he
passed frequent evenings in very enlightened and
delightful society; here he was encouraged in study-
ing the dead languages, so necessary to him in his
profession by acquiring these he learned to think
with the authors, and to embody the ideas of Homer,
Hesiod, and Æschylus, in a manner that no modern
artist has exceeded.*
:
* During his intimacy with this excellent family Mr. Flaxman
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
5
сл
Amongst his other engagements in art, he was
much employed by Mr. Wedgwood, in modelling
for his manufactory; and from the good taste and
persevering spirit of the one, and the genius, ability,
and industry of the other, was produced that great
improvement, in every description of vase, dish, cup,
&c., whether for use or ornament, which has been
acknowledged throughout the civilised world. A
set of chess-men were the most beautiful things of
the kind ever produced. A very highly-finished
drawing of all the pieces, by Mr. Flaxman, is in the
possession of the Wedgwood family.
One of his most admired works, previous to his
going to Italy, was a beautiful group of Venus and
Cupid, which was executed for Mr. Knight, of Port-
land-place; another was a monument in Gloucester
Cathedral to the memory of Mrs. Morley, who, with
her infant, died at sea; the mother and her babe are
rising from the waves, and are received by descend-
ing angels; it is an exquisite thing, full of that more
than mortal beauty so proper to the subject, and at
the same time affecting, from the sentiment and ex-
pression of the composition.
In 1782 Mr. Flaxman married Miss Ann Denman,
an amiable and accomplished woman, who accom
panied him to Italy in 1787. Fortunately, his wife
possessed that intelligence of mind, and love of art,
painted several pictures in oil, one of which was sold at an auc-
tion a short time since; the subject was " Edipus and Antigone,"
but was ignorantly described in the catalogue as "Belisarius," by
Domenichino.
6
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
that her society assisted, rather than impeded, the
progress of the artist through the studies and diffi-
culties of his profession.
It was not known to any but Mr. Flaxman's near-
est connexions, what circumstance determined him
to visit Rome. The fact was this: when Sir Joshua
Reynolds heard, from himself, that he was married,
he exclaimed, "Oh, then you are ruined for an
artist!" This observation (which was really un-
worthy of the man who uttered it) decided what had
hitherto been with him a question, whether he should
quit England and study for a time in Italy. He
was aware of the advantages attending it, and still
more convinced that it was considered by the world
as essential. He therefore began to contemplate it
as a thing to be done, and commenced finishing the
works he had in hand, without undertaking others.
At length everything was concluded, and knowing
that his pecuniary resources would allow him to go
without imprudence, he resolved on an absence of
two years, a period he thought would be sufficient
for his purpose. But when two years had passed
away, he found that the business he had under-
taken *
would not, as yet, permit him to leave
Rome; and one engagement succeeded another, until
the intended absence of two years became seven.
Throughout this interesting journey, as well as
during his residence in Rome, Mr. Flaxman's appli-
cation was incessant; whether he was drawing from
*The large group for Lord Bristol.
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
7
the antique, or making studies from the living groups
and figures abounding in the venerable city and its
environs, each object, animate and inanimate, was
to him beautiful or noble and all-inspiring; no day
was lost; and, except his health and strength failed,
no hour of the day was suffered to pass without some
improvement. Here he executed a group, of colos-
sal size, consisting of four figures, for the late Lord
Bristol, Bishop of Derry. The subject was the fury
of Athamas, from Ovid's "Metamorphoses."
For
this great work he received a sum so small that he
was a considerable loser by it; indeed, the great
loss and vexation this commission brought, made the
mention of the subject disagreeable to him. This
group, after several removals, first from Rome to
Leghorn, and afterwards to Ireland, has at last found
its place in Ickworth House, Suffolk, the seat of the
present Marquis of Bristol, but, unfortunately, it is
but little seen.
He also finished an exquisitely beautiful group,
of smaller size, of Cephalus and Aurora, for Mr.
Thomas Hope, which remains in that gentleman's
collection.
In Rome he made those designs from Homer,
Eschylus, and Dante, so much known and admired
throughout Europe, more particularly on the Con-
tinent. The “Iliad and Odyssey" were for the late
Mrs. Hare; the "Tragedies of Eschylus" for the
excellent Dowager Countess Spencer; and the
"Dante" for Mr. Thomas Hope. These were all
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A Brief Memoir of the Author.
admirably engraved in outline by Thomas Piroli,
and published in Rome in 1793, and subsequently in
London.
*
In 1794, Mr. Flaxman and his beloved companion
returned to their native land, where his first work
was the monument of Earl Mansfield, for West-
minster Abbey, the order for which he received
previous to his leaving Rome. The figure of the
earl is in his judicial robes, sitting, and in the act
of giving judgment; he is supported on each side by
Wisdom and Justice, as represented by the ancients;
the youth behind the pedestal with the inverted
torch is a classical personification of Death.
About the same time he erected a monumental
figure of Sir Robert Ladbroke in Spitalfields church.
In Westminster Abbey is a noble monument, with
a statue of Captain James Montague, crowned by a
Victory, which possesses an unusual combination of
aërial grace with dignity. The lions on the base are
admirable portraits of the magnificent animal from
which they were studied, at that time living in the
Tower; the flags behind the statue were added by
Mr. Flaxman at his own cost, as he found they
* It is not generally known in England that Mr. Flaxman,
upon his return from Italy, having paid the duties upon several
articles he had brought for his own study, interested himself so
warmly for his brother artists, that, through his representations
to the proper persons, the duties were taken off all future importa-
tions of that kind. This disinterested conduct was acknowledged
by the gentlemen then studying in Rome by a letter of thanks
bearing all their signatures.
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
9
would greatly improve the composition, the excel
lence of the work being always, with him, a prior
consideration to the profit. The removal of this
monument from its original situation in the Abbey,
was considered by Mr. Flaxman as nearly destruc-
tive of its effect.
In St. Paul's, the monument of Lord Nelson has a
striking portrait of the hero, wrapped in a pelisse,
and leaning on an anchor; Britannia is pointing out
the glorious example to two young sailors.
In the same cathedral is a monument to Earl
Howe: above is a sitting figure of Britannia hold-
ing a trident, the earl stands below her, on her left;
the British lion is watching by him on the other
side; Fame is recording the achievements of the
admiral, while Victory, leaning over her, places a
crown on the lap of Britannia.
To the memory of Captain Millar there is a basso-
relievo of Britannia and Victory raising a medallion
of the Captain to a palm-tree.
There is likewise in St. Paul's a fine statue of Sir
Joshua Reynolds.
Perhaps the most striking family monument ever
executed by Mr. Flaxman, was to the family of Sir
Francis Baring, in Micheldever church, Hants; it
consists of three distinct parts, making an extremely
beautiful whole. In the centre is a sitting figure of
"Resignation," inscribed "Thy will be done;" on
each side is a very fine alto-relievo, also from the
Lord's Prayer; the subject of one," Thy kingdom.
10
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
come;" the other-" Deliver us from evil." The
tranquil piety of expression in the single figure is
finely contrasted with the terrific struggle on the
one hand, and the ecstatic joyfulness of the female,
who is assisted in rising by angelic beings, on the
other.
There are two very interesting monuments in
Oxford to Sir William Jones, one at University
College and one in St. Mary's Church, both erected
by his lady.
At Christchurch, Hampshire, there is a group, of
the late Lady Fitz-Harris and her three children; a
most lovely representation of maternal tenderness,
which has been much, and deservedly, admired.
This was put up in 1817.
A monument to the Yarborough family, at Street
Thorpe, near York, is an alto-relievo of two females
relieving several poor persons of different ages; it is
a singularly fine composition, and remarkable for the
natural expression of each individual.
In the same county there is a beautiful monument
to the memory of Edward Balme, Esq.-" Instruct
the Ignorant." It is a group, in alto-relievo, of an
aged man holding a book, in which he reads while a
youth and a young female are attentively and
affectionately listening.
The memorial in Brighton Church, Northampton-
shire, put up by Earl Spencer, to his excellent
mother, the late dowager countess, is a proof of how
much beauty and real sentiment may be introduced
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
11
into a simple composition. The monument consists
of a tablet, having a figure of Faith at one end, and
a group of Charity at the other; this last is one of
the most lively conceptions of that virtue ever seen
in marble.
A figure of Mrs. Tighe (the authoress of Psyche)
merits the same kind of praise, as it possesses the
same character of beauty. This went to Ireland.
In Cookham Church, Berks, the monument of Sir
Isaac Pocock is a peculiarly affecting representation
of the death of that gentleman, which took place
suddenly in a boat on the River Thames.
"The good Samaritan," in Layton Church, Essex,
to the memory of Bosanquet, Esq., and a monu-
mental bas-relief to the late Mrs. Bosanquet, are
very admirable for feeling and execution. Equally
excellent in both is an alto-relievo in St. John's
Church, Manchester; and it has the peculiarity of
being erected in the life-time of Mr. Clowes, the
clergyman of that church, who having been fifty
years their exemplary pastor, his parishioners wished
in this way to express their love and veneration while
he was yet with them ;-he is represented instructing,
in their religious duties, Childhood, Maturity, and
Age.
In the cathedral at Winchester there is a fine
monument for Dr. Wharton.
Salisbury Cathedral has two Gothic monuments,
extremely elegant in design and delicately executed.
In Chichester Cathedral there are many of Mr
12
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
Flaxman's works: amongst others, a small but very
interesting monument to the memory of the poet
Collins.
In the city of Glasgow there are two statues larger
than life, of Mr. Pitt and Sir John Moore, in bronze;
and in Edinburgh the statue of Robert Burns is to be
placed in the library of the University.
Many statues and other works he executed for the
East Indies. One was a large figure of the Raja of
Tanjore; a monument to the missionary Schwartz,
in the Raja's territory; two to Lord Cornwallis; and
many more for private gentlemen, as well as for the
Honourable Company. And it is but justice to men-
tion, what Mr. Flaxman frequently declared, that in
all the works he executed for India, he constantly
experienced the most liberal treatment, not only in
pecuniary concerns, but in the handsome manner his
employers expressed their entire approbation of all
he did. The last of his works for that country was
a statue of the Marquis of Hastings, upon an embel-
lished pedestal, now on its way to Calcutta. This
was done by private subscription, and was not quite
finished in marble at the time of Mr. Flaxman's
decease, but has been completed under the in-
spection and care of Mr. T. Denman, his pupil and
brother-in-law; who has also erected the statue of
Mr. Kemble in Westminster Abbey, which was one
of the works in hand when the artist was taken from
this life.
Mr. Flaxman's grandest work in this country was
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
13
the group of the Archangel Michael and Satan, for
the Earl of Egremont, and was one of the last pro-
ductions of the sculptor. This is a work which, in
after ages, will be a glory, to the nation, to the
memory
of the artist, and to the name of the truly
noble proprietor; who, besides this group, has a pas-
toral Apollo, the size of life, the grace and beauty
of which are admirable.
The shield of Achilles is a proof of the high
classical knowledge, the perfect acquaintance with
the human figure, and the truly poetic spirit of him.
who made the composition. For the variety of its
beauties, and its skilful execution, it is unrivalled,
and truly worthy of adorning the palace of a sove-
reign. It reflects infinite credit on the taste and
spirit of Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, to have been
the means of producing this magnificent work of art.
The friezes on the front of Covent Garden Theatre
were designed by Mr. Flaxman; one of them and
the figure of Comedy were executed by him.
It is not possible to give a list of all the produc-
tions of Mr. Flaxman: those above enumerated were
selected as having most interest, though a great num-
ber of admirable works must necessarily be omitted.*
* Among the latter works of Mr. Flaxman are two small but
beautiful figures of Cupid and Pysche, done for Mr. Rogers; and
two others, of equal beauty, though different style, for Sir Tho-
mas Lawrence, of Michael Angelo and Raffaelle: with these
should be mentioned two exquisite bas-relievos from Milton, the
models for which were finished by Mr. Flaxman; one of them is
in a state of considerable forwardness in marble.
14
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
It will be right to mention in this place, that the
very last work of his hand was making the drawings
for all the principal embellishments on the exterior
of Buckingham Palace, and had his life been longer
spared, he was, at the particular desire of His Ma-
jesty, to have executed as many of them as he could
undertake, and to have directed the remainder. He
took great delight in making the designs, and looked
forward with an anxious pleasure to his task-but
Infinite Wisdom ordered it otherwise.
In 1797 Mr. Flaxman was elected an Associate
of the Royal Academy; in 1800 Academician; and
in 1810 he was appointed Professor of Sculpture *
in the Royal Academy, where he gave his lectures.
every season, with but few omissions, until the last
year of his life, 1826, when his health only per-
mitted him to deliver one. He had, however, written
a new one, On Modern Sculpture," which it has
been judged right to publish; it is the tenth and
last in the volume.
During the peace of 1802, when Paris was visited
by a great number of English, Mr. Flaxman went
* The Professorship of Sculpture was the first in this country,
and instituted expressly for Mr. Flaxman, who dedicated most of
his evenings to writing the Lectures and making the drawings.
for them. Few persons can conceive how much time and study
he devoted to that purpose. The drawings remain in the pos-
session of his family, as well as a great number of others, studies
from nature, and designs from various authors, some of them
beautifully finished.
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
15
also, for the purpose of seeing again those fine things,
he had studied with so much advantage in Italy.
Many of his countrymen were at that time intro-
duced to the First Consul; but he refused being one
of the number, as he could not submit to pay homage
(even for a few minutes) to the man who was the
enemy of his country and his king. He also de-
clined, while in that capital, meeting a celebrated
French artist, whose talents he admired, but of
whose political conduct and principles he had an
abhorrence; indeed, it was an invariable rule with
him, abroad and at home, to shun, with the greatest
care, the society of persons, however brilliant and
elever, when he was once convinced that their
religious and moral opinions were inimical to the
laws of their God and their country. By this con-
duct he preserved a purity of heart and character
rarely to be met with: it was this purity of heart
which inspired the delightful cheerfulness and amenity
of manner that won the affection of the young and
gay, as well as the respect and friendship of those of
equal years; the more intimately he was known, the
more he was beloved.*
Well might Sir Thomas Lawrence say, in his
most eloquent and feeling address to the students,
that the death of this exemplary man was a deep
(6
* In 1820 Mr. Flaxman lost his wife, which was the severest
trial he ever experienced, and called for all his pious and humble
submission to the will of Providence to support as became his
character.
16
A Brief Memoir of the Author.
and irreparable loss to Art, to his country, and to
Europe."
But still deeper and more irreparable was this
loss in the little "circle of affection" in which he
lived and died. He was always prepared for the
termination of his mortal pilgrimage: this (for him)
happy change took place on the 7th of December,
1826, having entered the seventy-second year of his
ago.
17
ADDRESS.
MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN,
Ir is not unknown to you that, by the
institution of the Royal Academy, the cultivation and
encouragement of painting, sculpture, and architec-
ture, were proposed to be supported from means
derived through the public exhibition of original
works in those arts. Schools were formed for their
practice, and lectures appointed for instruction in their
principles; but as the study of sculpture was at
that time confined within narrow limits, so the
appointment of a professorship in that art was not
required, until the increasing taste of the country
had given great popularity to the art itself, and
native achievements had called on the powers of
native sculpture to celebrate British heroes and
patriots.
The members of the Royal Academy in this, as
in all other public acts, have proved their liberality
and patriotism; and it will be no easy task for the
person, called to this situation, to prove himself
ஏ
18
Address.
worthy of the confidence he has been honoured
with it remains with him, however, to exert his
best endeavours, in a full reliance for support on the
same kindness and indulgence which raised him to
an exercise of the duty.
19
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE.
EDUCATION may be distinguished into theoretical
and practical. Theory supplies our minds with
the principles of science, from which rules are de-
duced for our future practice; and, indeed, the
latter must be considered as immediately succeeding
the former by natural connexion and certain conse-
quence, rather than as distinct and independent of
theory.
In a general view of human knowledge and exer-
tion, we shall find they have invariably co-operated
in whatever has been done most useful and most
excellent.
In universities, and the greater public schools,
science and literature are taught upon a scale suffi-
ciently extensive to furnish principles and theory for
the practice of every useful art and employment;
for the same reason in colleges and institutions esta-
blished for less general purposes, and confined to
the cultivation of particular sciences or arts, their
systems of education become more valuable and
20
Introductory Lecture.
effective as they promote a diligent and successful
practice, upon the principles of a sound and rational
theory.
The Royal Academy established in this palace,
by the munificence of our revered Sovereign, King
George III., has continued its exertions, without
ceasing, for the improvement of the schools, by
supporting its funds, by supplying the best living
models, casts from the finest specimens of antiquity,
for the student's imitation and practice, and by
rewards for the encouragement of distinguished
merit.
To these advantages a noble library has been
added, containing the most approved works on
painting, sculpture, and architecture, which is opened
twice a week to the members and students; and
to render this system as perfect as possible, and
unite the most approved principles, with a diligent
practice, professors of eminent merit in painting,
architecture, perspective, and anatomy, have been
appointed to deliver public instruction: the profes-
sorship of sculpture has been added within these
few years, which, in relation to the value and beauty
of the art it is intended to illustrate, may be justly
considered as a valuable addition. It may be
anxiously hoped that whoever may be raised to this
office, may be capable of honouring his art by the
eloquence and precision of his discourses, and the
excellence of his practice.
As materials for study constitute one of the chief
Introductory Lecture.
21
means of improvement, sentiments of gratitude will
be renewed towards our patron, the Prince Regent,
for His Royal Highness's munificent gift of the
extensive, magnificent, and invaluable collection of
casts from the most sublime works of Greek sculp-
ture.
This collection was executed with great skill and
precision from the original marbles, to supply their
places on the pedestals of their prototypes, when
those originals became the prey of barbarous rapa-
city.
S
-
The pillage was restored by the interference of
British justice, and the Regent's magnanimous coun-
cils. The Sovereign Pontiff, in acknowledgment,
nresented the casts to the Regent. His Royal High-
ness, preferring public advantage to individual gra-
tification, bestowed them on the Schools of Design,
to disseminate taste and promote knowledge: thus
affording gratification to the artist and connoisseur,
and an invaluable subject of contemplation and study
to the painter and sculptor.
Permit me to deviate from the direct scope of my
subject a few moments, into short but important
arguments on the equal injustice and impolicy of
removing the works of ancient sculpture from Italy.
-We will begin with the injustice, as the more
atrocious, although the consequences of such acts
will generally prove they were counselled by folly.
The city of Rome, since Constantine removed the
seat of empire to Constantinople, has been burut
222
Introductory Lecture.
seven times, which, in addition to the several cala-
mities of famine, pestilence, sieges, tumults, with the
natural decay produced by time itself, was reduced.
to a condition so despoiled and ruinous, that only
six statues were enumerated by a diligent observer,
Poggi, in the beginning of the 15th century, within
the walls; the rest had long been buried under the
mouldering fragments and rubbish of palaces and
temples, once decorations of the Imperial City in
her splendour. From the latter end of the 15th cen-
tury, the pontiffs, Italian princes, and nobility have,
with great labour and expense, rescued these won-
ders of ancient art from the bowels of the earth,
restored their mutilated forms, placed them in gal-
leries and museums, and, with a liberality which the
real love of knowledge alone inspires, have given
the learned traveller and artist, of all conditions and
countries, free access to their treasures. Let it be
remembered that the ancient Romans, despoilers of
Greece, having long since quitted this stage of life,
-the despoiled Greeks have also long since been
swept away in the lapse of time, so that their suc-
cessors, in name and territory, of the present day
(a various mixture of barbarous nations), neither
appreciate the possession, nor remember the suffer-
ings of their long past predecessors: the changes
and destruction of succeeding years, have enveloped
the memory of their descendants in such impene-
trable darkness, that we are uncertain whether any
race, or even particular family now living. can fairly
Introductory Lecture.
23
claim the distinction of being their direct repre-
sentatives.
As they cannot now be restored to their original
owners, who can justly and reasonably plead so good
a claim to their possessions, as those whose intelli-
gence, exertions, and benevolence have rescued these
precious remains from their graves, and generously
given them to the public?
These remains were not obtained by the Italian
nobles without considerable expense. The Medici
family appear to have paid 1800 crowns for the
Group of Boxers, when it was first found, one of
the figures being headless, which sum is more than
equal to 2000l. value of our money in England at
this day; and Cardinal Borghese built the front
of a church in recompense for the beautiful statue
of Hermaphrodite, lately in the Borghese Villa, on
the Pincian Hill. We may form some opinion of
the sums expended in restoring the works of an-
tiquity from the following instance.
A beautiful and extensive Mosaic pavement, con-
taining two very large circular friezes of figures,—
the subject of one, the Battle of the Lapithæ and
Centaurs, the subject of the other, Tritons and Sea.
Monsters, this was brought to Rome by order of
Pope Pius VI., laid down and restored in the great
hall of the Vatican, at the expense of 60,000 crowns,
about the value of 30,000l. of our present money in
England.
Every person desirous to complete a liberal edu-
24
Introductory Lecture.
A
cation, receives the rudiments in a school, prepara-
tory to finishing his studies in an university.
like proceeding is requisite to educate a painter or
sculptor: he commences his studies in his native
academy, and afterwards goes to Italy to make him-
self acquainted with the originals of those casts and
prints he has copied in his own country, there he
sees such an accumulation of classical works in the
sister arts as cannot fail to decide his choice, form
his taste, and lay the certain foundation of a good
practice. The claims of Italy to be considered an
university for the arts of design are indisputable,
for the number and character of her galleries and
collections, for the stupendous works of Michael
Angelo, Raffaelle, Titian, and the restorers of paint-
ing: all of which are painted on walls and cannot
be removed, the architectural remains, the relations
of those with the classical literature of the country,
and of Greece, the warm climate favourable to the
study of the human figure, and that general state of
tranquillity, and freedom from those dissipations
which infect some of the capitals in Europe; all
these advantages are peculiarly enjoyed in Rome,
Florence, Pisa, and throughout the Pontifical and
Tuscan States, and thus possess a union of advan-
tages not possible to be concentrated in any other
country in the present state of the world, for com-
pleting an education of principles in the arts of
design.
Here we will finish the digression and return to
Introductory Lecture.
25
the royal donation, and speak of its extent, cha-
racter, and value.
The groups, statues, basso-relievos, busts, and
fine fragments were sufficiently numerous to have
furnished an extensive range of study, supposing
there had been no previous collection in the royal
schools: the character and value will be best un-
derstood by an enumeration of the principal articles,
accompanied with such remarks as may imprint on
the younger student a strong sense of the excellence
which may be transplanted into his own mind from
such examples, by diligence and labour.
Let us begin with the Laocoon, which in the
time of Pliny was accounted the most consummate
work of painting and sculpture; its sentiment is
sublime and pathetic, the forms are noble and ex-
pressive, the whole is composed into a continued
and varied series of undulations, in agreement with
the movements of the serpents which assault Lao-
coon and his sons, and the writhing agonies their
venom has caused. Laborious treatises have been
written on this group; but it is one thing to fill a
volume, which captivates by the appearance of enthu-
siasm and show of learning, and a totally different
task to convey sound instruction. Mr. Fuseli in
his lectures has given a description of this group
equally worthy of a great poet and a painter.
The Apollo Belvidere, so called from the garden
of the Vatican, but in reality, the Deliverer from
Evil, has been both philosophically and popularly
26
Introductory Lecture.
considered as a form animated by such a sentiment
as might become a supernatural power revealed to
mortal sight. Hints are not wanting in ancient
monuments and authors, which lead us to believe
that the archetype of this statue was by Phidias.
The Venus of the Capitol, an example of more dig-
nified and less insinuating beauty than the Venus de
Medicis,-this statue is certainly a copy from one
of the three enumerated by Pliny among the works
of Praxiteles.*
The Apollo Sauroctonos, or Lizard Killer, from
an antique bronze in the Villa Albani, likewise
copied from a work of Praxiteles.*
The Satyr by the same sculptor.*
In the hall are five of these statues, and one group,
which may be described in succession.
The colossal statue of Minerva, placed opposite
the fire, was discovered twenty-four years since. A
duplicate of the same statue has since been found in
the neighbourhood of Rome. A bust of the same
figure was in the Albani Villa, and another dupli-
cate of the head is in the Marquis of Lansdowne's
collection. The frequent repetitions of this statue,
the estimation in which it was held by the ancients,
may reasonably lead us to believe they are all copies
from one by Phidias, mentioned by Pliny, in the
enumeration of that sculptor's works: the severe
and simple beauty of its character, together with
the resemblance to a figure on the reverse of an
* In the Council Room.
Introductory Lecture.
27
Athenian coin, published by Dr. Coombe, in Hunter's
collection, gives additional countenance to this
opinion.
On the left of this statue sits Menander, and on
the right Posidyppus, both comic poets. The learned
Visconti has offered arguments, which appear to be
unanswerable, for believing them to be the portraits
of those authors, which were in the Theatre of
Athens.
On the side of the steps next to the window
stands a Roman, whose head is covered by his toga,
which descends to his feet in majestic abundance.
His countenance resembles the Scipio family, and
answers in dress to a description of Scipio Nasica,
quoted by Ferrarius de re Vestiaria.
The figure of Juno has an air of sublime dignity
the original is in the Capitol.
The Achilles, which faces the Minerva, is an ex-
ample of heroic strength, in grand and decided form.
This statue was in the Borghese Villa; it is now in
Paris, with the whole of that collection, which once
belonged to the Borghese family.
The group commonly named Papirius and his
Mother, but much more likely to be Electra and
Orestes, or Penelope and Telemachus, of a pure
style and natural sentiment.
The group generally known as Pætus and Arria,
but more likely Macareus, son of Eolus, and Canace
his wife, or Flamon and Antigone. The sentiment is
despair and union; the male figure, whilst he inflicts
28
Introductory Lecture.
the mortal wound upon himself, supports with des-
porate energy his beloved wife, sinking to the ground
in death. The lines of this group unite the charms
of harmony and force of contrast in the power of
expression.
We shall now notice eleven statues in one para-
graph, as being one family: they are Mnemosyne
the mother and her daughters, the nine Muses, and
Apollo their leader. Thalia has the beauty of early
youth in modesty; Melpomene is known by an
heroic attitude, similar to Egeus, the father of
Theseus or Jason; Euterpe is distinguished by a
regal grace; Calliope and Clio by Doric simplicity
and mental occupation in bodily rest; Apollo, the
leader of the Muses in this series, is known for a
celebrated statue among the ancients by some re-
verses of Nero's coins.
Besides the purposes of study for which these
statues are highly valuable in a school of design,
their presence has converted the Council Chamber
into an Homeric Olympus, where none approach
without the mingled sentiment of delight and awe.
In the Plaster Academy is the group of Pylades
and Orestes, offering sacrifice; also the statue of
Germanicus delivering an oration.
The Colossal Barberini Faun, remarkable for the
terse, elastic forms of muscle and tendon, proper to
the mountainous and sylvan habits of the race.
These cursory notices shall be closed with the
Diana discharging an arrow, from the original marble
•
Introductory Lecture.
29
in the Gallery of Paris. This beautiful and inte-
resting statue has long been the rightful property
of the French monarchs: it has been considered by
some learned men and professional judges, as nearly
resembling the Apollo Belvidere in countenance and
general character, to a degree that may warrant
opinion that they are both the production of one
sculptor. It is also possible the archetypes of these
two divinities were introduced in the destruction of
Niobe and her family, on the throne of Jupiter, at
Elis the sanction of ancient authors and monu-
ments is not wanting to countenance this supposi-
tion.
In this enumeration a beautiful modern statue
must not be forgotten-it is Paris, by Signor Canova,
Marquis of Ischia, and perpetual President, or (in
the Italian language) Prince of the Roman Academy :
his moral qualities and rank in his art are equally
honourable to his country and to himself; gratitude
would be wanting not to acknowledge he has mani-
fested a passionate desire to serve and respect the
Royal Academy of London, and his attention has
been prompt and unceasing to the English at Rome.
within 100th Dates
SI MTA"
By such a donation as that we now contemplate,
the donor secures to himself satisfaction increasing
in proportion to the accumulated advantages result-
ing from the use of the gift, the diffusion of know-
ledge and taste, the elevation of national character
in noble and useful arts; disseminating their advan-
tages in a thousand different currents, connected by

30
Introductory Lecture.
the united interests of letters, science, and civiliza-
tion; the honest wealth of the country promoted;
and by the innocence of such employments, and the
beneficence of their nature, a permanent addition
will be acquired in the general fund of happiness
and contentment.
Long may the Regent enjoy the delights of such
patriotic reflections; and may the rising talents
within these walls satisfy the wishes of their patron,
and fulfil the sanguine expectations, and ardent hope
of this institution and our country.
The object of these lectures has been to lead to
more extensive views in the arts of design, and espe-
cially in sculpture.
In the early ages of the world, tents, and the
slightest structures were thought sufficient for the
purposes of habitation; but temples for worship were
raised, or excavated in stone, and adorned by sculp-
ture with the emblems of Theology, and symbols of
Divine Wisdom.
In India the sculptures were mystical attributes
and manifestations. In Assyria they had relation to
the heavenly bodies, and government of the universe.
In Egypt they were hieroglyphical memorials of
divine and human knowledge: this was the earliest
as it will always continue the most important em-
ployment of this art, debased indeed according to the
corruptions of systems:-but in that nation which
received the law with signs-wonders to enlighten a
darkened world-the Almighty directed the figures
Introductory Lecture.
31
of Cherubim to guard the Ark of the Covenant; but
the Ark, the Tabernacle, the first and second Temple,
and all their glories have been removed by Divine
appointment, and we must look to systems more
questionable and less pure for such perfection as we
are acquainted with in this art: yet we must not be
led to suppose that any art, dependent on intellectual
knowledge, can arise to any height of excellence
without the assistance of its efficient cause; and the
arts of design in Greece were improved by the
Pythagorean and Platonic philosophers, the most
enlightened which the heathen world possessed.
Less will be said of Grecian art in this place, be-
cause it supplies so large a portion of the following
discourses, while we turn our thoughts to the more
general application and utility of the arts of design,
and more especially of sculpture.
·
>
32
LECTURE I.
ENGLISH SCULPTURE.
THE arts of design, considered as portions, extend
their relations and use through the whole circle of
knowledge; they embody ideas, demonstrate the
affections and passions; they exhibit the human
figure in the highest state of conceivable perfection,
and in all of its varieties and gradations. The more
common purposes of these arts are to illustrate the
several branches of science, from the simplest
elements to the most complicated forms and exer-
tions; but their superior concerns appeal to the
intellect and the reason, by the representation of
superior natures, divine doctrines and history, the
perpetuation of noble acts, and assisting in the ele-
vation of our minds towards that excellence for
which they were originally intended.
Painting is honoured with precedence, because
design, or drawing, is more particularly and exten-
sively employed in illustration of history. Sculpture
immediately follows in the enumeration, because the
two arts possess the same common principles, ex-
English Sculpture.
33
pressed by painting, in colour, and by sculpture, in
form.
This art, in early ages of most nations, has been
chiefly employed in the service of religion, as the
symbolical representations of Divine attributes and
characteristics abundantly testify, in Egypt, Ethio-
pia, India, Persia, and ancient Greece; even among
the Jews, who were particularly restricted concern-
ing the use of images, on account of their proneness
to idolatry, two figures of cherubim were placed by
Divine command in the "Holy of Holies," extending
their wings over the ark, which contained the cove-
nant between God and man.
If any other testimony were requisite concerning
the estimation in which painting and sculpture were
held among the ancients, it might be summed up in
these observations, -that Plato studied painting,
Socrates was a sculptor by profession, and Aristotle
may be numbered among the patrons of art, as well
as his pupil Alexander, as we learn from the philo-
sopher's will, that he ordered various monumental
statues to be made of his friends and relations. This
esteem was so general, that not only the best, but
the worst characters of antiquity (Nero and Com-
modus), sought reputation from affecting to encou-
rage, and even to practise them. A further con-
sideration of the state and employment of sculpture
among the ancients, particularly the Greeks and
Romans, will be necessarily connected with its com-
pendious general history and principles in future
D
34
English Sculpture.
discourses, and which may be introduced in the
present lecture, by a sketch of its progress in our
own country.
Among the ancient Britons, whose dress was a
bonnet, hair-cloak, tunic, and long drawers; whose
dwellings were nuts, and whose cities were woods
enclosed by ramparts and ditches, little progress
could be expected in the art of sculpture; and in-
deed no other proofs are come down to us that they
had any, excepting some rude coins, apparently
imitations of those of Tyre or Carthage, with which
countries they had commercial intercourse.
When the Romans had conquered the island, the
inhabitants, in imitation of their conquerors, built
temples, courts of justice, baths, and all other struc-
tures, both public and private, the magnificence of
which is not only learned from historians, but proved
from immense remains of foundations and mosaic
pavements found in various parts of the kingdom,
with fragments of statues, groups, sarcophagi, and
sepulchral stones, of different ages and workman-
ship; on which, however, these remarks may be
offered, that all those works found in Britain, and
which we believe were actually performed here, are
inferior, both as to principles and execution, to those
done by the Romans in their own country at the
same period, which is to be accounted for thus ; the
inhabitants of Britain were instructed in the arts of
peace by soldiers, whose knowledge of them was
very inferior to their military skill, or by such
English Sculpture.
35
artists of little estimation as could be well spared
from Rome or other Italian cities.
Two heads of bronze statues, a Minerva aud
Diana,* found in Bath, are examples of sculpture
here during the Roman dominion. The statues, to
which these heads belonged, are believed to have
been the objects of worship in temples dedicated to
those goddesses, formerly existing in that city; nor
is it impossible that they were British sculpture, as
they are certainly indifferent copies from fine ori-
ginal busts.
The Britons continued to practise the art of cast-
ing magnificent works in bronze upwards of 200
years after the departure of the Romans, according
to Speed, who says, "that King Cadwollo being
buried in St. Martin's Church near Ludgate, his
image great and terrible, triumphantly riding on
horseback, artificially cast in brass, was placed on
the western gate of the city, to the further fear and
terror of the Saxons!" We must not, however,
understand, from this bold and poetical description
of Cadwollo's statue, that its expression was the
result of its excellence. If it was terrible as well as
great, that characteristic was the consequence of its
barbarous workmanship: for in the year 677, when
Cadwollo died, the Goths, Franks, Lombards, and
other uncivilized nations, had nearly exterminated.
the liberal arts in Europe.
The following general miscellaneous remarks on
* A cast of this head is in Sir John Soane's Museum.
36
English Sculpture.
Roman-British Antiquities may be properly offered
in this place.
Of the Roman altars and sepulchral tablets, found
in Britain, carved in native stone, the workmanship
is extremely rude, like that done in Italy under the
Gothic and Lombard kings. This observation will
include the architectural fragments, as well as
human figures in basso-relievo, found at Bath, and
belonging to the temples of Minerva and Diana in
that city; notwithstanding these temples must have
been raised before the time of Constantine the Great,
when the Christian religion became the religion of
the empire, after which, it is not likely pagan
temples of any consequence were erected under the
Roman government, if we except the short reign of
Julian.
In most of the Roman mosaics found in Britain,
the principal object of the design is a Bacchus, or an
Orpheus playing on his lyre; those mosaics with the
Bacchus are of the best design and workmanship, for
which this reason may be given,-that the Bacchus
Musagetes was frequently introduced, before the
time of Alexander Severus, in sarcophagi and other
works, that Divinity being much liked by the
Romans, as patron of the drama; consequently, those
mosaics are likely to have been done in the course
of 170 years, between the reign of Domitian, when
the Britons adopted the buildings and decorations of
the Romans, and the year 240, when the Orphic
philosophy spread its influence in the Roman
English Sculpture.
37
empire. From this period, to the year 336, the
representations of Orpheus may be dated, after
which time they were succeeded by Christian
characters and symbols.
Fragments of cups and pateras have been found
in Cambridge, Colchester, and other places, made of
fine red clay, baked and glazed, adorned with basso-
relievos, beautifully modelled, of Mercury, Apollo,
Venus, and other heathen deities, from large statues
still existing, with fine scenic masks, boars, dogs, &c.
These were certainly brought from Italy, because
great numbers of similar fragments, evidently from
the same moulds, are found in Rome and its vicinity.
The Roman coins of Dioclesian, Probus, Licinius,
Constantine, his sons, &c., gave examples for dia-
dems, helmets, dress, and the manner of represent-
ing busts of their kings, upon the Saxon pennies.
7
The Roman dress continued in general use in
England to the reign of Henry III.: this dress was
highly favourable to painting and sculpture, in
affording a beautiful variety of folds, and showing
the body and limbs advantageously.
The Saxons destroyed the works of Roman
grandeur in Britain, burnt the cities from sea to sea,
and reduced the country to barbarism again; but
when these invaders were settled in their new pos-
sessions, they erected poor and clumsy imitations of
the Roman buildings themselves had ruined.*
* In the beginning of the sixth century, when the Franks and
Germans began to establish themselves in Gaul, they buried
38
English Sculpture.
The Saxon painting is rather preferable to their
sculpture, which, whether intended to represent the
human or brutal figure, is frequently both horrible
and burlesque. The buildings erected in England,
from the settlement of the Saxons to the reign of
Henry I., continued nearly the same plain, heavy
repetitions of columns and arches. So little was
sculpture employed by them, that no sepulchral
statue is known in England before the time of
William the Conqueror. Previous to this period
their names and titles only were engraved on their
tombstones. In Winchester Cathedral-" Son of
Alfred the Great." In the same church-"Son of
William the Conqueror."
Immediately after the Norman Conquest figures
of the deceased were carved, in bas-relief, on their
gravestones; examples of which may be seen in the
cloisters of Westminster Abbey, representing two
abbots of that Church, and in Worcester Cathedral
those of St. Oswald and Bishop Wulstan, &c.*
their sovereigns in plain stone coffins, without any exterior dis-
tinction or inscription, the name of the deceased being written
ou the inside of the cover. This was done to prevent the tomb
being violated for the sake of jewels and other valuables which
accompanied the royal corpse,-a common practice in those un-
settled barbarous times. Afterwards, in the reign of Charle-
magne, who was contemporary with our king Edgar, the French
began to decorate the outside of their tombs with statues of the
deceased and other ornaments, bearing some resemblance to
Roman manner.
These are the accounts of the best French
Antiquaries, Montfaucon, Buillant, and Felibien; and they may
be understood as invariable.
* Plate I.
English Sculpture.
39
These are the earliest statues in low relief, intro-
duced about the Conqueror's time, probably by the
Normans.
The Crusaders returned from the Holy Wars eager
to imitate the arts and magnificence of other countries;
they began to decorate the architecture with rich
foliage, and to introduce statues against the columns,
as we find in the west door of Rochester Cathedral,
built in the reign of Henry I.*
Architecture now improved; sculpture also became
popular. The custom of carving a figure of the
deceased in bas-relief on the tomb seems likely to
have been brought from France, where it was con-
tinued in imitation of the Romans. Figures placed
against columns might also be copied from examples
in that country, of which one remarkable instance
was a door in the church of St. Germain de Prez
in Paris, containing several statues of the ancient
kings of France, projecting from columns; a work
of the tenth century, of which there are prints in
Montfaucon's Antiquities.
Sculpture continued to be practised with such
zeal and success, that in the reign of Henry III.
efforts were made deserving our respect and atten-
tion at this day.
Bishop Joceline rebuilt the Cathedral Church of
Wells from the pavement; which having lived to
finish and dedicate, he died, in the year of our Lord
1242. The west front of this church equally testi-
Henry I. and his Queen Matilda.
40
English Sculpture.
fies to the piety and comprehension of the bishop's
mind; the sculpture presents the noblest, most
useful and interesting subjects possible to be chosen.
On the south side, above the west door, are alto-
relievos of the Creation,* in its different parts, the
Deluge, and important acts of the Patriarchs. Com
panions to these on the north side, are alto-relievos
of the principal circumstances in the life of our
Saviour. Above these are two rows of statues
larger than nature, in niches, of kings, queens, and
nobles, patrons of the church, saints, bishops, and
other religious, from its first foundation to the reign
of Henry III. Near the pediment is our Saviour
come to judgment, attended by angels and His twelve
apostles. The upper arches on each side, along the
west front, and continued in the north and south
ends, are occupied by figures rising from their graves,
strongly expressing the hope, fear, astonishment,
stupefaction, or despair, inspired by the presence of
the Lord and Judge of the world in that awful
moment.
In speaking of the execution of such a work, due
regard must be paid to the circumstances under
which it was produced, in comparison with those of
our own times. There were neither prints, nor
printed books, to assist the artist; the sculptor could
* There are many compositions of the Almighty creating Eve,
by Giotto, Florence, Buon Amico, Buffalmaco, Pisa, Ghiberti,
and Michael Angelo. This is certainly the oldest, and not in-
terior to any of the others.-Plate II.
English Sculpture.
41
not be instructed in anatomy, for there were no
anatomists. Some knowledge of optics, and a glim-
mering of perspective, were reserved for the researches
of so sublime a genius as Roger Bacon, some years
afterwards. A small knowledge of geometry and
mechanics was exclusively confined to two or three
learned monks, in the whole country; and the prin-
ciples of those sciences, as applied to the figure and
motion of man and inferior animals, were known to
none! Therefore this work is necessarily ill drawn,
and deficient in principle, and much of the sculpture
is rude and severe: yet, in parts, there is a beautiful
simplicity, an irresistible sentiment, and sometimes
a grace, excelling more modern productions.
It is very remarkable that Wells Cathedral was
finished in 1242, two years after the birth of Cimabue,
the restorer of painting in Italy; and the work was
going on at the same time that Nicolo Pisano, the
Italian restorer of sculpture, exercised the art in his
own country: it was also finished forty-six years
before the Cathedral of Amiens, and thirty-six years
before the Cathedral of Orvieto was begun; and it
seems to be the first specimen of such magnificent.
and varied sculpture, united in a series of sacred
history, that is to be found in Western Europe. It
is therefore probable that the general idea of the
work might be brought from the east, by some of the
Crusaders. But there are two arguments strongly
in favour of the execution being English; the family
* Plates II. III. IV.
42
English Sculpture.
name of the bishop is English, "Joceline Troteman;"
and the style, both of sculpture and architecture, is
wholly different from the tombs of Edward the
Confessor and Henry III.,t which were by Italian
artists.
*
The reign of Edward I. produced a new species
of monument. When Eleanor, the beloved wife of
that monarch died, who had been his heroic and
affectionate companion in the Holy War, he raised
stone crosses of magnificent architecture, adorned
with statues of his departed queen, wherever her
corpse rested on the way to its interment in West-
minster Abbey. Three of these crosses still remain,
at Northampton, Geddington, and Waltham; the
statues have considerable simplicity and delicacy;
they partake of the character and grace particu-
larly cultivated in the school of Pisano, and it is not
unlikely, as the sepulchral statue and tomb of Henry
III. were executed by Italians, that these statues of
Queen Eleanor might be done by some of the nume-
rous travelling scholars from Pisano's school.
The long and prosperous reign of Edward III.
was as favourable to literature and liberal arts as
to the political and commercial interests of the
country. So generally were painting, sculpture, and
architecture encouraged and employed, that besides
the buildings raised in this reign, few sacred edifices
existed which did not receive additions and decora-
tions. The richness, novelty, and beauty of archi-
* By Benvenuto. † Wm. Torrell.
Plate V.
English Sculpture.
43
tecture may be seen in York * and Gloucester
Cathedrals, and many of our other churches; besides
the extraordinary fancy displayed in various intricate
and diversified figures which form the mullions of
windows, they were occasionally enriched with a
profusion of foliage and historical sculpture, equally
surprising for beauty and novelty.
In the chancel of Dorchester Church, near Oxford,
are three windows of this kind; one of which,
besides rich foliage, is adorned with twenty-eight
small statues relating to the genealogy of our Saviour,
and the other two with alto-relievos from acts of His
life.
It would be endless endeavouring to enumerate
the various examples of the passion for sculpture
which prevailed in this age. In the Lady Chapel
of Norwich Cathedral all the key-stones, twenty or
thirty in number, are beautiful alto-relievos from
the Virgin Mary's life: three sides of the cloister,
belonging to the same church, have key-stones (per-
haps one hundred and fifty in number) representing
principal passages from the Old Testament as well
as the New.
There is a frieze of historical subjects entirely
round St. Mary's Church, belonging to Ely Cathedral.
The monuments of Aylmer de Valence Earl of
Pembroke, and Edmund Crouchback, in Westminster
Abbey, are specimens of the magnificence of such
works in the age we are speaking of: the loftiness
* Plates VI. XL. L. and Mr. Carter.
44
English Sculpture.
of the work, the number of arches and pinnacles,
the lightness of the spires, the richness and profusion
of foliage and crockets, the solemn repose of the
principal statue, representing the deceased in his
last prayer for mercy to the Throne of grace, the
delicacy of thought in the group of angels bear
ing the soul, and the tender sentiment of concern
variously expressed in the relations, ranged in
order round the basement, forcibly arrest the atten-
tion, and carry the thoughts not only to other ages,
but other states of existence.
It is a gratification to know that the principal
sculptors and painters employed by Edward III. in
his Collegiate Church (St. Stephen's), now the
House of Commons, were Englishmen. In Mr. J. T.
Smith's History of Westminster Palace we have
many of those artists' names.
Besides several other works in the reign of Henry
VI., three deserve to be particularly mentioned.
:
First two statues, King Henry on one side, and
Archbishop Chicheley on the other, with a basso-
relievo of the Resurrection between them, over the
door of All Souls' College, in the High Street, Oxford.
The king's statue has great purity of character,
with a peculiar delicacy and grace in the hands,
both of which hold the sceptre. The basso-relievo
has been carefully defaced, but seems to have pos-
sessed merit.
*
* Michael the sculptor; Master Walter, John of Sonnington,
John of Carlisle, Roger of Winchester, &c., painters.
English Sculpture.
45
The second of these works is an arch, in West-
minster Abbey, which passes from the back of
Henry V.'s tomb over the steps of Henry VII.'s
chapel. This arch is adorned with upwards of fifty
statues: the centre group, on the north face, repre-
sents the coronation of Henry V., the lines of
figures on each side, his nobles attending the cere-
mony. On the south face of the arch, the central
object is the king on horseback, armed cap-à-pie,
riding full speed, attended by the companions of his
expedition. The sculpture is bold and characteristic,
the equestrian group is furious and warlike, the
standing figures have a natural sentiment in their
actions, and simple grandeur in their draperies, such
as we admire in the paintings of Raffaelle or Mas-
saccio.
The third of these works is the monument of
Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in St. Mary's
Church, Warwick: a gilt bronze figure of the earl,
in the act of prayer, lies on a richly-ornamented
marble pedestal, round which are several beautiful
small gilt bronze statues, standing in niches sup-
porting canopies over them. The figures are so
natural and graceful, the architecture so rich and
delicate, that they are not excelled by any sculpture
in Italy of the same kind at this time, although
Donatello and Ghiberti were living when this tomb
was executed, in the year 1439.*
* Monument in St. Mary's Church, Warwick. The mason,
Thomas Essex; the sculptor and founder was William Austin
46
English Sculpture.
But the building, of all others most intended for a
receptacle and display of sculpture, which former
ages have left in England for our admiration, is the
Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey, built by Henry
VII. to receive his tomb. It has been said the
number of statues, within and without this chapel,
amounted to three thousand!-perhaps many of
these have been destroyed, and in that number every
half figure, or animal, may have been reckoned; but
certainly, even at this day, the number is very great,
and it is another example of the astonishing esti-
mation and employment of sculpture in this kingdom
before the Reformation. Many interesting particu-
lars concerning this chapel and tomb, from original
documents, are given in Britton's " Architectural
Antiquities;" from which, and the "Life of Torri-
giano" by Vasari, we may conclude that artist was
employed on the tomb only, and had no concern
with the building or the statues with which it is
embellished. The structure appears to have been
finished, or nearly so, before Torrigiano began the
tomb; and there is reason to think that he did not
stay in this country more than six years, which time
would be nearly, if not quite, taken up in the exe-
cution of the tomb and some other statues about it,
now destroyed, together with the rich pedestal and
enclosure. The architecture of the tomb has a
of London. Prints, and a description of this monument, in the
second volume of Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, and Stothard's
Monumental Effigies.
English Sculpture.
47
mixture of Roman arches and decoration, very dif-
ferent from the arches of the chapel, which are all
pointed; the figures of the tomb have a better pro-
portion and drawing, in the naked, than those of the
chapel; but the figures of the chapel are very supe-
rior in natural simplicity and grandeur of character
and drapery.*
From these differences in style, from the inden-
tures with Torrigiano relating to the tomb only, and
not to the chapel, and from the names of several
English artists, painters, sculptors, founders, and
masons, being mentioned in the documents, who
were not concerned in Torrigiano's engagement, we
may presume the chapel and its sculptures were
native productions.
After the observations on this building, we must
take a long farewell of such noble and magnificent
efforts of art, in raising which the intention of our
ancestors was to add a solemnity to religious worship,
to impress on the mind those virtues which adorn
and exalt humanity.
The greater number of these structures are already
gone!—the remaining few are daily crumbling into
ruins!—and with what are their places to be sup-
plied?
The reign of Henry VIII., and those immediately
succeeding him, were employed in settling disputes
of faith by public executions: as either of the
contending religious parties prevailed, this mutual
* Plates VII. and VIII.
48
English Sculpture.
and undistinguishing spirit of persecution extended
equally to the destruction of man and his ingenious
labours.
In the year 1538, Henry VIII. issued an injunction,
that all images which had been worshipped, or to
which idle pilgrimages had been made, should be
taken down and removed from the churches. And
in the reign of Edward VI., in the year 1541, his
uncle, the Duke of Somerset, the Protector, and
Council, ordered all images, without distinction, to
be thrown down and destroyed. This was under-
stood, and executed, on pictures, as well as sculp-
ture; and there is good reason to believe that we
are indebted to the immense number of these works,
which tired the patience of their enemies before their
destruction was completed, for what remains of them
at this day.
Had the popes of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen-
turies been actuated by the same iconoclastic fury
against the remains of Greek and Roman superstition,
we should have been unacquainted with the Apollo
Belvidere, the Venus of Praxiteles, the Laocoon, the
Niobe family, and the other wonders of Grecian
art.
Henry VIII., however, in the beginning of his
reign, ordered Peter Torrigiano to make for him,
and his queen, one of the most magnificent sepul
chral monuments ever conceived, and surpassing
every thing of the kind in the modern world.
Although it was not intended to be so large as that
English Sculpture.
49
designed by Michael Angelo for Julius II.,* proposed
to occupy the pavement under the cupola of St.
Peter's in Rome, yet in richness, and the number
of figures, would have much excelled it. The height
was to have been twenty-seven feet, the breadth
twenty, and the depth fifteen. Two steps were to
support the whole work, then a basement of white
marble, ornamented with basso-relievos of the life
of our Saviour, then two pedestals on the basement,
supporting statues of the king and queen as if asleep ;
between them a third pedestal was to rise above
them, supporting the king's statue, completely armed
on horseback; over this a decorated triumphal arch.
Over the figures of the king and queen, on each
side, a sort of temple, between the columns of which
were to be statues of the fourteen prophets of the
Old Testament, with basso-relievos of their stories,
and angels holding their names, the twelve apostles,
and four doctors of the church, with their angels and
acts; at the corners of the tomb, the four cardinal
virtues;†—a chorus of angels, twenty in number, on
* In Della Valle's edition of Vasari.
† A monument to Sir Francis Vere, in the chapel of St. John
the Evangelist, Westminster Abbey, representing four knights
supporting a canopy over the deceased (Pl. LI.).
In the great church of Brede is the monument of Count Engel-
bert and his wife; he died 1505-the design said to be by Michael
Angelo, the upper part similar to that of Sir Francis Vere. Four
knights bearing armour on a canopy over the Count and Countess,
and at the corners of the base, Cæsar, Regulus, Philip, and
Alexander.
The great Lord Burleigh's monument at Hatfield, Herts, has
the four cardinal virtues bearing the canopy.
M
50
English Sculpture.
the parapet above; with other statues, one hundred
and thirty-three in all, and forty-three basso-relievos
of gilt bronze, with twenty columns in the architec-
ture, of porphyry, oriental alabaster, and serpentine
marble. The particulars of this magnificent work
are preserved in Speed's "History of England," taken
from the explanation of a drawing the king had
approved.
The commands for destroying sacred painting and
sculpture effectually prevented the artist from suffer-
ing his mind to rise in the contemplation or execution
of any sublime effort, as he dreaded a prison or the
stake, and reduced him in future to the miserable
mimicry of monstrous fashions, or drudgery in the
lowest mechanism of his profession!
This unfortunate check to our national ability for
liberal art occurred at a time which offered the most
fortunate and extraordinary assistance to its progress.
The lately-discovered art of printing began to en-
lighten the European hemisphere with the beams of
knowledge in all directions; copies of the Bible
were generally dispersed; the philosophies of Plato
and Aristotle were understood and well illustrated;
mathematics was successfully studied; SO was
anatomy; linear perspective had been, in a great
measure, perfected by Paul Uccello, the Florentine,
some time before. These advantages did much
towards the formation of Mantegna, Raphael, Michael
Angelo, Titian, Da Vinci, and Correggio, in common
with the great scientific and literary luminaries of
English Sculpture.
51
he same period, among whom we may boast our
Bacon, Shakespeare, Spenser, and afterwards John
Milton. But the genius of fanaticism and destruc-
tion arrested our progress; the iconoclastic spirit
continued, more or less mitigated, till its great explo-
sion during the civil wars, when violence and bar-
barity became so disgustingly shocking in all respects,
that we shall quit the subject entirely; let it suffice
to say, after the spirit of liberal art had been extin-
guished among the natives, it was found necessary
to engage celebrated artists from other countries.
Holbein, Rubens, and Vandyke, are the greatest
names among the painters; the sculptors are of less
note. Steevens the Hollander, with De Vere and
others from the Netherlands, Caius Cibber, the
sculptor of the kings at the Royal Exchange, the
bas-relief on the London Monument, and the mad
figures on the piers of Bedlam gates; Sheemacher,
employed on the sculpture of St. Paul's, and Roubiliac,
whose works are justly admired for life and nature,
though their value is diminished by epigrammatic
conceit and frequent meanness of parts.
Yet during the abasement of native art, instances
were not wanting of men who might have risen to
excellence in more favourable times. Christmas
executed a monument to Sir William Pitt and his
lady, at Strathfieldsaye, Hants, which partakes much
of Vandyke's manner. Stone, who was mason to
Charles I., made a monument for Mr. Holles of the
Newcastle family, near Lady Nightingale's in West-
52
English Sculpture.
minster Abbey, which has a grandeur of conception
by no means common at that time.
Our purpose has been, in this Lecture, to show
that ability has not been wanting to excel in sculp-
ture, whenever it has not been prevented by outward
circumstances. This has been proved by monuments
still in existence, the wrecks only of those pro-
digious destructions which succeeded each other,
without intermission, from the reign of Henry VIII.
to that of Charles II. From these wrecks we prove,
that from the time Nicolo and John Pisano restored
sculpture in Italy, soon after the year 1200, and
before the birth of Cimabue the Italian restorer
of painting, to the reign of Henry VII., we have
works of sculpture in England, in some cases pos-
sibly by English artists, in other, and most im-
portant instances, certainly by Englishmen, whose
names are on record, and whose works may be com-
pared with those of the best Italian artists of the
same times. We have likewise seen, since the es-
tablishment of the Royal Academy has afforded an
advantageous school for study, under the auspices of
our gracious sovereign George III., that we have
had a sculptor in the late Mr. Banks, whose works
have eclipsed the most, if not all, of his continental
contemporaries. Further testimony might be added
of works by living artists, which have been ad-
mired by foreigners, and have raised the British
school of sculpture to distinguished eminence in
Europe.
English Sculpture.
53
We may, therefore, fairly conclude, that whatever
attention and encouragement this Institution has be-
stowed on the art of sculpture, has not only been
honourable to the Academy, but advantageous to the
country.
54
LECTURE II,
EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
IN tracing man's early progress and improvement,
the most authentic knowledge is obtained from the
Bible, not only in religion, but in civilization and
arts. In this sacred volume is also a register of
patriarchal history, containing accounts of the neigh-
bouring nations long before any other written in-
formation that has come down to us. In the Book
of Exodus, we are told of Laban's teraphim or
images, and the golden calf, made by Aaron and
the Israelites, which they worshipped during the
absence of Moses on the mount. This violent ten-
dency to idolatry accounts for the strict injunctions,
under which they were bound, by divine command,
not to worship any image: whilst the same authority
commanded statues of cherubim to extend their
wings over the Ark of the Covenant, and that the
veil of the tabernacle should be adorned with
cherubim. This proves the command was not
against the images themselves, but the abuse of
them for impious and idolatrous purposes, and, on
Egyptian Sculpture.
55
the contrary, is a testimony of approbation of such
works, when representing the ministers of God's
providence, or the guardians of His holy laws; and
indeed it is a most gratifying reflection to a prac-
titioner of the sister arts, that the Almighty con-
descended to employ them as the handmaids of
religion, and that He particularly inspired Aholiab
and Bezaleel to produce the most admirable and
lively decorations of angelic forms for His tabernacle.
Of these nothing remains but description; all the
glories of Solomon's Temple, and that raised after
the captivity, with all their beauty and splendour,
are swept away by the same appointment which
decreed the Jews should no longer be a nation.
Were we to search with the most scrutinizing dili-
gence for some specimens of ancient Jewish art, only
three could be produced,-the piece of money called
a shekel, bearing a cup on one side, and an almond
branch on the other; the candlestick with seven
branches; and the table of shew-bread, on a bas-
relief under the arch of Titus. The porticos of
tombs in Palestine, which have been published, bear
a strong appearance of Greek restoration.
The magnificent sitting golden Jupiter in the
Temple of Jupiter Belus in Babylon, the statue of
the Tyrian Hercules, and other divinities of Sidon
and the neighbouring cities, are only to be found at
present in the ancient writers, and what they were
it is impossible for us to judge, unless we may form
some conjecture from analogy with Egyptian art,
56
Egyptian Sculpture.
concerning which information is copious and ex-
amples abundant.
Herodotus, an author of the most respectable
integrity and intelligence, informs us "the Egyptians
erected the first altars and temples to the gods, and
carved the figures of animals on stone," and the
great number and variety of Egyptian sculptures
remaining, from the most rude to the most perfect,
give us reason to believe we have specimens from
the earliest to the latest of their productions.
The amazing power of that country,* which, in
the time of their king Amasis, contained 20,000
populous cities; their reputation of being the wisest
nation of antiquity, and on that account visited by
Orpheus, Homer, Thales, Pythagoras, Plato, and
others distinguished for wisdom; the Pyramids, the
Lake Moris, and other stupendous works and
buildings, of which five immense palaces and thirty-
four temples still remain to astonish posterity;† the
universal and profuse employment of sculpture in
colossal and minute dimensions, for public and
domestic purposes, for the service of the living and
the dead; all induce us to inquire into the prin-
ciples and quality of their productions. We have
not only the written accounts by ancient authors,
but the demonstrative evidence of remaining works,
that almost the whole of their sculpture was sacred;
that is, representations of divine qualities, attributes,
Herodotus, Euterpe. † Citizen Ripand's Report. p. 9.
Egyptian Sculpture.
57
and personifications; with the exception of the his-
torical series in their tombs and palaces.
Herodotus mentions two statues, one placed before
the Temple of Vulcan at Memphis, the other in the
city of Sais, by King Amasis, each of which was
seventy-five feet long.
The colossal Sphinx, near the great Pyramid,
rises twenty-five feet, although it is nearly buried up
to the gullet in sand.
The sitting statues of Memnon, the mother and
son of Osmandue, at Thebes, are each fifty-eight
feet high. To these we might add a catalogue of
similar works, known by remaining fragments, or
described by authors. There is a clenched hand in
red granite in the British Museum, which belonged
to a statue sixty-five feet high.
The Egyptian statues stand equally poised on
both legs, having one foot advanced, the arms either
hanging straight down on each side, or, if one is
raised, it is at a right angle across the body. Some
of the statues sit on seats, some on the ground, and
some are kneeling; but the position of the hands
seldom varies from the above description; their
attitudes are of course simple rectilinear, and with-
out lateral movement; the faces are rather flat, the
brows, eyelids, and mouths, formed of simple curves,
slightly but sharply marked, and with little expres-
sion; the general proportions are something more
*
* Sphinx, in the sacred language of Orpheus, "the soul com-
prehending all."-Brucker, vol. I., p. 380.--Clemens Alex.
58
Egyptian Sculpture.
than seven heads high, the form of the body and
limbs rather round and effeminate, with only the
most evident projections and hollows.
Their tunics, or rather draperies, are in many
instances without folds.
Winckelman has remarked, that the Egyptians,
executed quadrupeds better than human figures:
for which he gives the two following reasons—first,
that as professions in that country were hereditary,
genius must be wanting to represent the human
form in perfection; secondly, that superstitious re-
verence for the works of their ancestors prevented
improvement. This is an amusing but needless
hypothesis; for there are statues in the Capitoline
Museum with as great a breadth, and choice of
grand parts proper to the human form, as ever they
represented in their lions, or other inferior animals.
In addition to these observations on Egyptian statues,
we may remark, the forms of their hands and feet are
gross; they have no anatomical detail of parts, and
are totally deficient in the grace of motion. This
last defect, in all probability, was not the consequence
of a superstitious determination to persist in the
practice of their ancestors, it is accounted for in
another and better way.
Pythagoras, after he had studied several years in
Egypt, sacrificed a hundred oxen in consequence of
having discovered that a square of the longest side
of a right-angled triangle is equal to the two squares
of the lesser side of the same triangle; and thence
Egyptian Sculpture.
59
it follows, that the knowledge of the Egyptians could
not have been very great at that time in geometry.
This will naturally account for that want of motion
in their statues and relievos, which can only be ob-
tained by a careful observation of nature, assisted by
geometry.
The state of Egyptian science in the time of Py-
thagoras being noticed, leads to another considera-
tion respecting the date of their architecture and
sculpture. Most of their great works are mentioned
by the ancient writers as being done in the reign of
Sesostris, and afterwards. Sesostris lived in the
reign of Rehoboam, King of Israel, about the time of
the Trojan war, or 1000 years before the Christian
era, which shows that the arts of Egypt and of Greece
were in a progressive state of improvement at the
same time, and from the Greeks residing with them
to study theology, philosophy, and science, from the
great intercourse, political and commercial, between
the two countries from the heroic times,-from the
Greeks being long settled in the city of Naucratis
and other parts of Egypt, we may fairly conclude
their communication in arts was just as free as
in other concerns, which seems the more likely,
as there is a considerable resemblance in the fea-
tures and contour of the early Greek and. Egyptian
་
statues.
The Egyptian basso-relievos are generally (but
not always) sunk into the ground, which is left level
with the highest part of the relief; for which practice
60
Egyptian Sculpture.
two reasons may be assigned-first, that as many of
these basso-relievos were cut in very hard stones,
basalt or granite, as much time would have been
required to clear away the ground about the figure
as had been employed in cutting the figure itself;
and besides the economy of time, when some hun-
dreds or thousands of these figures were engraven on
the sides of a lofty obelisk, or the walls of a temple,
the far greater number of them were at a great
distance from the eye, fifty, sixty feet or more: in
this case the ground being left perpendicular to the
figure, the whole circuit of its outline, gave it a
greater breadth of shadow and distinctness to the
spectator.
These basso-relievos, which we comprehend in the
general term of hieroglyphics, or sacred engravings,
represent different subjects, according to the place
and purpose for which they were employed: in the
walls of tombs they represent the profession, actions,
and funeral of the deceased; in palaces, wars, nego-
tiations, triumphs, processions, trophies, with the
civil, military, and domestic employments of kings.
In temples they were symbolical registers of
theology and sacred science; on obelisks, they ex-
press hymns to the gods, or praises of their kings.
Ammianus Marcellinus has preserved part of a trans-
lation by Hesmaneon of the Egyptian hieroglyphics
on the obelisk which formerly stood in the centre of
the Circus Maximus, and, at present, before the
church of St. John de Lateran in Rome. It imports
Egyptian Sculpture.
61
that the sun, the lord of the universe, gives to
Rameses the kingdom of Egypt and the dominion of
all the earth, in the city of Heliopolis. This transla-
tion appears sufficiently justified in the upper lines of
the hieroglyphics, where a divinity is sitting in the
act of bestowing on a man who kneels before him,
stretching out his hands to receive. In the following
line the same man is seen again, taking possession of
an altar, on the side of which is the ox Apis, and on
the top, the mitred hawk, symbol of Osiris. Thus of
the sacred emblems of Egypt.
*
Our time and purpose will not permit us to dwell
on the stupendous architecture, or laborious wonders,
the labyrinths, tombs, temples, pyramids and palaces
on either side of the Nile, from Upper Egypt till its
discharge through various channels into the Mediter-
ranean; but we may understand to what extent
sculpture was employed among this people, by a
brief description of the palace of Karnac, a portion
of Egyptian Thebes. The front of this palace was
420 feet long, its depth nearly three-quarters of a
mile; it consisted of four great courts of nearly equal
dimensions, comprehended within a long square. The
first court was occupied by four rows of columns,
the second contained 130, the largest eleven feet in
diameter, the smaller seven feet; the third court was
adorned with six obelisks, ninety feet high, and
colossal statues, and surrounded by various royal
apartments. On each side the entrance of the fourth
* Plate IX.
62
Egyptian Sculpture.
court was a saloon of granite; the rest of the space
was occupied by porticos, colonnades, and numerous
chambers for officers and attendants. This palace,
with four dependent structures of similar magnifi-
cence, but inferior proportions, was approached by
four paved roads, bordered on each side with figures
of animals, fifteen feet long: in one avenue, ninety
lions; in another, sphinxes; in another, rams; and
in the fourth, lions with hawks' heads. From the
ruined state of these avenues, we cannot now have
any computation of the number of animals by which
they were bordered, though it is almost certain they
were not fewer than 300, yet it is possible they
might be many more.
In this place twenty-two colossal statues still
remain, and a great number of granite statues and
fragments the size of nature besides which, the
walls were nearly covered with basso-relievos and
pictures. The lesser structures in this group of
buildings were adorned in the same manner, and
communicated with the magnificent tomb of Ismandes
or Memnon, before which stood the statue of Memnon,
sixty-five feet high, already mentioned, with the
statues of his mother and son, fifty-eight feet high.
The largest of these was thrown down and destroyed
by Cambyses, the Persian conqueror of Egypt; its
fragments still remain, an ear of which is three feet
three inches long, and a foot four feet across.
The enormous works of Egypt have struck every
foreign visitor with wonder and awe, from Hero-
J
Egyptian Sculpture.
63
dotus down to the members of the French Institute.
Herodotus says, "one of their buildings is equal to
many of the most considerable Greek buildings taken
together," and M. Ripand observes, "those works are
so prodigious, they make every thing we do look
little;" and, indeed, if we consider the execution of a
statue sixty-five feet high in so hard a material as
granite, the boldest heart would be appalled at the
incalculable labour and difficulties of the work!
In the Egyptian sculpture we shall find some
excellent first principles of the art.
Their best statues are divided into seven heads
and a half; the whole height of the figure is divided
into two equal parts at the os pubis; the rest of the
proportions are natural and not disagreeable. The
principal forms of the body and limbs, as the breasts,
belly, shoulders, biceps of the arm, knees, shin-bones,
and feet, are expressed with a fleshy roundness,
although without anatomical knowledge of detail;
and in the female figures these parts often possess
considerable elegance and beauty. The forms of the
female face have much the same outline and progres-
sion towards beauty in the features as we see in
some of the early Greek statues, and, like them,
without variety of character; for little difference
can be traced in the faces of Isis, in her representa-
tions of Diana, Venus,* or Terra, or, indeed, in Osiris,
although sometimes understood to be Jupiter himself,
excepting that in some instances he has a very small
* Plate X.
64
Egyptian Sculpture.
beard, in form resembling a peg. The hands and
feet, like the rest of the figure, have general forms
only, without particular detail; the fingers and toes
are flat, of equal thickness, little separated, and
without distinction of the knuckles; yet, altogether,
their simplicity of idea, breadth of parts, and occa-
sional beauty of form, strike the skilful beholder, and
have been highly praised by the best judges, ancient
and modern.
In their basso-relievos and paintings which require
variety of action and situation, are demonstrated their
want of anatomical, mechanical and geometrical
science relating to the arts of painting and sculp-
ture.
The king or hero* is three times larger than the
other figures; whatever is the action, whether a
siege, a battle, or taking a town by storm, there is
not the smallest idea of perspective in the place, or
magnitude of figures or buildings. Figures intended
to be in violent action are equally destitute of joints,
and other anatomical form, as they are of the balance
and spring of motion, the force of a blow, or the just
variety of line in the turning figure. In a word,
their historical art was informing the beholder in the
best manner they could, according to the rude charac-
ters they were able to make.
From such a description it is easy to understand
how much their attempts at historical representation
were inferior to their single statues.
* Plate XII.
Egyptian Sculpture.
65
}
What has been hitherto said of Egyptian sculpture
describes the ancient native sculpture of that people.
After the Ptolemies, successors of Alexander the
Great, were kings of Egypt, their sculpture was
enlivened by Grecian animation, and refined by the
standard of Grecian beauty in proportion, attitude,
character, and dress.
Osiris, Isis, and Orus, their three great divinities,
put on the Macedonian costume, and new divinities
appeared among them in Grecian forms, whose
characteristics were compounded from materials of
Egyptian, Eastern, and Grecian theology and philo-
sophy.
In the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian, a
number of statues, in imitation of the ancient Egyp-
tian, were made to decorate the canopus in his magni-
ficent villa at Tivoli, several of which have been dug
up, and placed in the Capitoline Museum: but
Winckelman has remarked of these, that they may
be known from the ancient Egyptian sculpture,
having no hieroglyphics on them: but besides this
distinction, they are entirely unlike the genuine
Egyptian, as the drawing and character are Roman,
in Egyptian attitudes and dresses.
The ancient authors who give the most satisfactory
accounts of Egyptian antiquities are Herodotus,
Diodorus Siculus, Josephus, Strabo, Clemens of
Alexandria, Iamblicus, and Orus Apollo.
The best modern books on this subject are "Po-
cock's Voyages," "Savary's Travels in Egypt,"
F
66
Egyptian Sculpture.
"Norden's Egypt," and "Denon;" to which may be
added the most magnificent work on ancient and
modern Egypt publishing in Paris, to be in twelve
volumes folio, containing 840 plates, from the observa-
tions, researches, accounts, and drawings of the learned
men and artists of the French nation who formed the
Egyptian Institute.
*
We must not omit some notice of the sculpture of
Persepolis, palace of the Persian kings, heads of
one of the four great monarchies of the ancient
world.
This stately ruin, at a small distance from the
capital of ancient Persia, was such when visited by
Le Bruyn, the Dutch traveller, and our countryman,
Sir John Chardin, that no certain plan of it could be
ascertained; but from the extent of its site, and the
epithet given by the Persian writers, who called it
the palace of a thousand columns, it seems to have
been a wonder of ancient Asia, as its ruins are of
this day. Le Bruyn says, forty columns remained on
an extensive basement of masonry, ascended by mag-
nificent flights of steps, approached by gateways and
remains of walls, which formerly surrounded the
structure, covered with basso-relievos representing
the military power, pomp, triumphs and sacrifices of
the Persian monarchs. These sculptures have some
resemblance to the style of the Egyptian basso-
relievos in the palaces of Thebes, allowing for the
difference of dress; but as they contain nothing in
* See Plate XII
Egyptian Sculpture.
67
science, or imitation, particularly favourable to our
pursuit of excellence, we shall content ourselves with
respecting it as a most venerable monument of
ancient history and learning, whilst we follow our
course by some observations on Hindu sculpture.
*
The stupendous excavated temples of Ellora, Ele
phantis, and other parts of India, are known in
England by representations which do honour to our
country. They are of high antiquity, and adorned
throughout with mythological sculpture, the subjects
of which are symbols, allegorical personages, and
groups of figures expressing various attributes and
energies of divine power, providence, and mani-
festation, according to the Brahmin system, con-
cerning which valuable and extensive information
may be obtained from "Moore's Hindu Pantheon,"
in which there are upwards of 1500 outlines of
Hindu painting and sculpture,† faithfully copied
from the originals. We may remark on the sculpture,
that, although it bears some resemblance to the
Egyptian, it is inferior both in science and likeness
to nature.f
After this summary view of sculpture among the
early nations of the east, we shall proceed to the
** Journal of a Residence in India," by Maria Graham.
† See Plate XIII.
(C
Matsya Purana Purana, a direction to the artists in the
character, proportions, and attributes of Hindu Divinities."
Hayasirus on the same subject, not specified from what Purana
taken, in the Imperial Library, Paris.-Edinburgh Review, No.
34, Feb. 1811.
68
Egyptian Sculpture.
principles and practice of the art with the Greeks,
where, if it was not born, it was advanced to a high
degree of perfection: but, as all effects depend on
their causes, and ends cannot be produced without
adequate means, we shall do well to inquire what
branches of science were employed by this distin-
guished people, to aid them in the representation
of form and character; and here, although we must
pause a moment to regret the loss of invaluable
treatises by the greatest painters, sculptors, and
architects of antiquity, enumerated by Vitruvius
and the elder Pliny, yet some short paragraphs
those authors have preserved, with the assistance of
other ancient writers, and a comparison of these with
the numerous and precious remains of ancient works,
will compensate for the loss, and give the requisite
information.
We find, upon these authorities, that geometry and
numbers were employed to ascertain the powers of
motion and proportions, optics and perspective (as
known to the ancients),-to regulate projections,
hollows, keeping, diminution, curvatures, and general
effects, in figures, groups, insulated or in relief, with
their accompaniments; and anatomy, to represent
the bones, muscles, tendons, and veins, as they
appear on the surface of the human body and inferior
animals.
In this enlightened age, when the circle of science
is so generally and well understood,-when the
connection and relation of one branch with another
Egyptian Sculpture.
69
!
is demonstrated, and their principles applied from
necessity and conviction, wherever possibility allows,
in the liberal and mechanical arts, as well as all the
other concerns of life, no one can be weak or absurd
enough to suppose it is within the ability and
province of human genius, without the principles of
science previously acquired,—by slight observation
only, -to become possessed of the forms, characters,
and essences of objects in such a manner as to
represent them with truth, force, and pathos at once!
No: we are convinced by reason and experience,
that "life is short, and art is long," and the perfection
of all human productions depends on the inde-
fatigable accumulation of knowledge and labonn
through a succession of ages.
The Egyptian arts were in progressive states of
improvement, from before the time of Moses to the
invasion and subjugation of the country by Cambyses
the Persian, a period of about 1000 years, and the
arts of Greece, from their rudest beginnings before
the time of Dædalus, rose to high perfection in abont
900 years, or the reign of Alexander the Great. In
the early times of Greece, Pausanias informs us the
twelve gods were worshipped in Arcadia, under the
forms of rude stones, and before Dædalus the statues
had eyes nearly shut, the arms attached to their sides,
and the legs close together; but as geometry, me-
chanics, arithmetic, and anatomy improved, painting
and sculpture acquired action, proportion, and de-
tailed parts.
M
70
Egyptian Sculpture.
Vitruvius, Book III., lays down some rules used
by the most celebrated Grecian artists, taken from
their own writings, for the symmetry or proportions
of the human figure, and also the geometrical figures
which circumscribe its general form and motion.
He says, "if a man lies on his back, his arms
and legs may be so extended, that a circle may be
drawn round, touching the extremities of his fingers
and toes, the centre of which circle shall be his
navel;" also, "that a man standing upright, the
length of his arms, when fully extended, is equal to
his height;" thus, that the circle, and the square,
equally contain the general form and motion of the
human figure.
He also says
“the human figure is eight of its own
heads in height, or ten faces, from the chin to the
growing of the hair, each face containing three equal
parts, &c." From these hints and some others in
his work, with some also given by that philosopher
and painter, Leonardo da Vinci, in which he has
pursued the same profound mathematical train of
reasoning, a complete system of proportions and
motion may be laid down upon the ancient Greek
principles, in a future lecture on that subject.
Concerning the optics and perspective of the
ancients he has the following passage: "Agatharcus
of Athens made a tragic scene under the direction of
Eschylus, and left a commentary upon it; being
instructed by that, Democritus and Anaxagoras wrote
on the same subject in what manner the extension of
Egyptian Sculpture.
71
rays to the point of sight, by an appointed centre,
should answer to the lines by natural reason, so that
the certain and uncertain images of buildings should
be rendered in appearance by painted scenes, which
should be viewed in front on the perspective plain;
so that some should seem to retire, and others come
forward."
This passage appears to contain as much of per-
spective as was known to the ancients, and amounts
to this-that rays from visible objects meet in the
eye as a centre, and that objects should be repre-
sented prominent, or retiring, according to their
proposed situations. This is certainly all the know-
ledge of perspective shown in the ancient works of
art, however excellent in other respects; and, indeed,
from the imperfect description of the eye given by
Hippocrates, we have no reason to believe that the
nature of vision, or the science of optics, were much
understood when Agatharcus, his contemporary, wrote
his commentary on perspective.
Pliny says, lib. xxxiv., c. 8, Leontius, the con-
temporary of Phidias, first expressed tendons and
veins—“ primus nervos et venas expressit "-which
was immediately after the anatomical researches and
improvements of Hippocrates, Democritus, and their
disciples; and we shall find in the same manner all
the improvements in art followed improvements in
science.
( t
Diodorus Siculus was informed by the priests, that
Dædalus measured the proportions of the Egyptian
72
Egyptian Sculpture.
statues, and perhaps by this improved the forms of
his own works, which he also improved by making
his statues walk, that is, setting one foot before the
other, and by detaching the arms from the body;
yet, notwithstanding, for centuries after, the statues,
whether standing or walking, seem equally poised
on both feet, having their shoulders, hips, and knees
even with each other; and that too in violent actions.
In basso-relievos and paintings, when the figure was
forcibly exerted, it was generally represented in an
awkward and impossible manner, until after the
time Pythagoras and Thales had improved geometry,
and thus increased the knowledge of circular and
triangular powers and relations, which is indis-
pensable to perfectly understanding the curvilinear
motion of animal bodies in different directions, and
to ascertain its quantity and direction in the limbs.
Pursuing the same observations, we shall find
the painters and sculptors did not give the utmost
variety and accuracy to their positions and actions,
until after Euclid the mathematician had formed his
collection of problems.
For want of the same progressive improvement in
optics, which would have led to perspective, we find
the best ancient pictures and basso-relievos always
limited and defective in their fore-shortenings.
The knowledge of anatomy among the early Greeks
was so small, that it could have afforded little
* Denon's "Egypt " p. 124. Egyptian statues seven heads and
one-third high.
Egyptian Sculpture.
73
assistance to the artist. Homer, indeed, has described
all the wounds mentioned in his poems with anato-
mical correctness, and on this account has been
quoted by Galen, at a time when the science had
arisen to considerable eminence. But Pliny observes,
"the art of medicine (which among the ancients
included anatomy) was in profound darkness from
the time of Homer to the age of Hippocrates," and if
we examine his treatises on the bones, we shall find
their number reckoned, but so rude a sketch of the
exterior anatomy, as conveys scarcely any distinct.
idea of any one part of the body or limbs; yet, from
his treatise on the joints, we find that he occasionally
dissected parts of the human body. From this
imperfect state of the science, even in the time of
Phidias and Praxiteles, we must agree in the opinion
of your learned professor of anatomy, "that the
ancient artists owed much more to the study of living
than dead bodies."
Yet different circumstances must sometimes have
given anatomical help to artists from early times:
the researches of physicians, the observation of
bodies left on the field of battle, the preparations of
sacrifice or food, and the practice of dissecting
quadrupeds among the philosophers:-these several
sources will account for all the general and simple
anatomical forms we see in Grecian works of art,
before the time of Phidias.
What has been adduced is sufficient to show that
science must attain a certain perfection before the
74
Egyptian Sculpture.
arts of design can be cultivated with success, and
that before the human form can be well represented,
some system of proportions must be collected from
the measurement of man himself, to regulate the
thickness, breadth, and height of the body and limbs,
and their parts in the imitation. The powers and
extent of motion will be settled by geometry and
mechanics; and anatomy will assist the observation
of living nature, by assigning the particular forms
which compose masses, and distinguish between the
accidents of action and rest.
In considering the assistance afforded by science.
towards the perfection of art, we observe, that as
soon as the painter or sculptor has succeeded in a
rude and general resemblance of man, he then
attempts the natural differences of sex and age, the
civil distinctions of orders, as the soldier and the
priest, the king and the slave; he proceeds to the
expression of passion and moral qualities, and at
last rises to supernatural representation.
In this
progress he is assisted and directed by the forms of
society in which he lives, the principles of philo-
sophy, and the dictates of religion; these are the
natural and regular steps by which art approaches
perfection.
The arts of design (particularly sculpture) may
be said to be consecrated to religion from the very
cradle.
Thus, in the early times, when their figures were
ordinary and barbarous, having only the rudest
!
Egyptian Sculpture.
75*
character of imitation, without any of its graces,
their gods were distinguished by their symbols only
-Jupiter by his thunderbolt, Neptune by his tri-
dent, and Mercury by his caduceus: not unfre-
quently these, and other divinities, were represented
with wings, to show they were not mere men.
The symbols, attributes, and personal character-
istics, as the arts improved, were derived from the
poets,* and influenced by philosophy.
The early figures of Jupiter and Neptune have no
beards, but when Homer's verses became the canon
of public opinion, the father of gods and men
became bearded, and so also did his brother Nep-
tune.
After the first Olympiads, when Mercury was
considered a patron of gymnastic exercises, he
obtained a youthful figure. It is likely that Her-
cules was not exhibited with extraordinary muscular
strength until the Greek tragedians had settled his
character by their impassioned and overpowering
descriptions of his acts and labours.
The winged genii on the painted Greek vases
were introduced from the Pythagorean philosophy:
and female divinities became lovely and gracious in
the time of Plato: in fine, the different systems of
philosophy, from the beginning of the Ionic sect by
Thales to the Alexandrine philosophy, which was
prevalent at the coming of Christ, all influenced the
arts of design, giving a tone to their excellence, and
*See Plates XIV. and XV.
76
Egyptian Sculpture.
an indication of their character, which we shall
occasionally notice where it is found requisite.
What has here been offered can only be considered
as the transient glance of a most extensive prospect,
ennobled by monuments of religious institutions,
with the symbols and allegories of philosophy; it is
enlightened by the wisdom and science of succeeding
ages, and delights with an abundant choice of beauty
in the higher orders of creation, more particularly
expressing mental perfection by bodily form.
For full satisfaction on such a subject, very copious
illustration and example are needful: these are to
be obtained from the writings of Winckelman,
Mengs, Leonardo da Vinci, Reynolds, and Fuseli,
with a fuller demonstration from publications of the
Pope's museum, the Capitoline museum, Montfaucon,
the Herculaneum collection, and various other works
on ancient art.
But the admirer of sculpture will receive the
most lively satisfaction, and best instruction, from a
contemplation of the admirable assemblage in the
Townley collection, the invaluable fragments of the
Elgin marbles at the British Museum, the casts in the
Royal Academy, and elsewhere collected by indi-
viduals.
If to these could be added the basso-relievos of
Athenians fighting with the Amazons and Centaurs,
found at Phigalia in the Argolis, we should indeed
possess a most respectable school of sculpture, which,
by its assistance in ancient learning, and advance-
Egyptian Sculpture.
77
|
ment of the arts, with the consequently profitable
improvement in general knowledge (so indis-
pensable to the arts of design), would amply repay
any trouble or expense arising in the course of its
attainment.*
* In 1815 the frieze of the Temple of Apollo at Phigalia was
purchased for £15,000, the expenses of transporting increased
the sum to £19,000. There are twenty-three marble tablets; the
first eleven numbers represent the combats between the Lapithæ
and Centaurs; the remaining, the battles of the Greeks and
Amazons. They are the finest works of the kind which have
been handed down to us. In the former the ferocity of the brute
is contrasted with manly courage; in the latter, female heroism
and grace resisting manly strength, awakes our sympathy and
calls forth our admiration.
78
LECTURE III.
GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
WHEN we consider the gradual ravages of time, and
the more compendious destruction of war, in the
eastern portion of Europe, and those countries of
Asia from whence the remains of ancient knowledge
have been obtained-that the sites of Babylon and
Memphis are scarcely known-that Persepolis, Alex-
andria, Elis, Eleusis, Delphos and Athens are dis-
covered by ruins almost unintelligible, or the re-
mains of their foundations only-that Rome, the
eternal city, the mistress of the world, with all her
lofty towers, magnificent temples, and imperial
palaces, has suffered sevenfold conflagration!!!*—
that fourteen thousand exquisite works of Greek and
Etruscan sculpture, which decorated this metropolis
of the world in her meridian splendour, were so
entirely destroyed or overwhelmed by Gothic igno-
rance, or iconoclastic fury, that in the beginning of
the fifteenth century a learned and intelligent
observer, Poggio Bracciolini, secretary to Eugenius
* Vide Pliny.
Į
4
Grecian Sculpture.
79
the Fourth and Nicholas the Fifth, noticed only six
statues among the other remains of former grandeur
-when we recollect the destruction of the Capito-
line and Ulpian libraries, the first and second Alex-
andrine libraries, one containing 400,000, the other
1,100,000 volumes, together with the general and
undistinguishing Turkish and northern devastations
in every branch of learning and science, throughout
better than one half of the old continent!-from
such a train of reflections, and such a widely-ex-
tended scene of ruin, we might be induced to
suppose that all the nobler monuments of ancient
genius and knowledge were lost for ever.
Upon more accurate inquiry, we shall find the fact
very different from the appearance; and, on the
contrary, whatever was most essential for man's
good, or his information, has by a wonderful provi-
dence been preserved! The sacred Scriptures-the
Eastern, the Pythagorean, Platonic, Aristotelian, and
Alexandrine philosophy - copious collections of
geometry, mathematics, astronomy, geography,
medicine, and anatomy-the best poets-the best
historians-catalogues of which have been published
in twenty-three volumes, by the learned J. Christo-
pher Wolff and T. Albert Fabricius, comprehending
an immense body of Eastern, Arabic, Greek, and
Roman literature--if we add to these the stupendous
and admirable architectural remains in Egypt, India,
Persia, Greece, and Italy-the beautiful and nearly
innumerable statues, groups, and basso-relievos
80
Grecian Sculpture.
rescued from ancient ruins the 700 Greek and
Roman paintings recovered from the buried cities.
of Herculaneum and Pompeii, after being lost 1,700
years exquisite gems and coins discovered, and
discovering every day; when we consider that we
actually possess such prodigious treasures of ancient
science and art, in every branch and species, we
must acknowledge we have an overflowing abund-
ance to establish our principles and stimulate our
exertions, and that more, although they might
gratify our reverence for antiquity, would rather
overwhelm than assist the progress of modern genius.
From these sources our present subject will be
fully supplied in its progress, its relations to, and
assistance from, the circle of science; and, finally,
demonstrate that its excellence must depend on the
understanding and sentiment which overrules its
manual operation.
And thus the course of our
inquiries will be now directed to the origin of
sculpture in Greece.
Some centuries before the Christian era, a sculptor
appeared, whose works exacted the praise of poets,
the speculations of philosophers, the record of his-
torians, and continued to be preserved with zeal,
and spoken of with respect, when sculpture had
attained its zenith: this was Dædalus, the country-
man and contemporary of Theseus, not inferior per-
haps in fame and variety of adventures to that hero,
born of a royal race, occasionally the friend or
adversary of kings, admired for his works while
Grecian Sculpture.
81
living, and honoured with a chapel by the Egyptians
after death.
To him are attributed many mechanical inven-
tions, fabulous and real: a fine portico to the Tem-
ple of Vulcan at Memphis-the Cretan labyrinth,
which was a copy of a hundredth part of the
Egyptian labyrinth: he made a figure to move like
life, by means of quicksilver contained in it. Dio-
dorus Siculus speaks of his works in Sicily; Pau-
sanias mentions those remaining in Greece in his
time, nine in number, of which there may be par-
ticularly noticed one, a naked Hercules in wood.
"The works of Dedalus are indeed rude, and
uncomely in aspect (says Pausanias), but yet they
have something as of divinity in their appearance."
Pausanias, besides the high character here given
of this statue, mentions it twice in his Grecian
Tour," from which we must understand that it was
held in considerable esteem and veneration: this
would naturally lead us to hope we are not without
some copy of it, in gems, coins, or small bronzes, by
which all the most famous works of antiquity were
multiplied.
In the British Museum,* as well as in other col-
lections in Europe, are several small bronzes of a
naked Hercules, whose right arm, holding a club,
is raised to strike, whilst his left is extended, bear
ing the lion's skin as a shield. From the style
of extreme antiquity in these statues-the rude
* See Plate XVI.
G

Ch
Furkijouk
82
Grecian Sculpture.
attempt at bold action, which was the peculiarity of
Dædalus-the general adoption of this action in the
early ages—the traits of savage nature in the face
and figure, expressed with little knowledge, but
strong feeling-by the narrow loins, turgid muscles
of the breast, thighs, and calves of the legs-we
shall find reason to believe they are copied from the
above-mentioned statue
Ljudsaman
The same author says the Gnossians had a chorus
in white stone, made by Dædalus for Ariadne, which
is mentioned in the eighteenth book of the Iliad as
youths and damsels dancing hand in hand. The
earliest Greek bas-relievos and paintings represent
choruses of the Graces and Hours in this manner.
Endæus, the disciple of Dædalus, made a statue
of Minerva, which Pausanias saw in the Acropolis of
Athens. The learned author of the Introduction
to the "Volume of Sculpture," published by the
Dilettanti Society, supposes the heads of Minerva,
on the early coins of Athens, were copied from this
very statue, which seems very reasonable when we
compare the style and costume with other works of
the highest antiquity; but as our limits neither
require, nor allow, of regular history, we shall con-
dense what is most important on this subject into a
relation of successive improvements; and here, it
should be observed, that in the early times of which
we are now treating, their rude efforts were intended
to represent divinities and heroes only. Jupiter,
Neptune, and several heroic characters have the
Grecian Sculpture.
83
1
self-same face, figure, and action as the Hercules of
Dædalus, described above; the same narrow eyes,
thin lips, with the corners of the mouth turned
upwards, the pointed chin, narrow loins, turgid
muscles, the same advancing position of the lower
limbs, the right hand raised beside the head, and
the left extended. Their only distinctions were,
that Jupiter held the thunderbolt, Neptune the
trident, and Hercules a palm-branch or bow-as
may be seen in ancient small bronzes, on coins of
Athens and Pæstum, and on the most ancient painted
vases.
The female divinities were clothed in draperies
divided into few and perpendicular folds; their
attitudes advancing like those of male figures. The
hair of both male and female statues or paintings
of this period is arranged with great care, collected
in a club behind, sometimes entirely curled, in the
same manner as practised by the native Americans,
and the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands.
Dædalus and Endæus formed their statues of
wood; metal was also used for various purposes of
sculpture in the most ancient times, as we learn
from Homer, Hesiod, and Plutarch.*
Diponus † and Scyllis the Cretan were celebrated
for their marble statues, about 776 years before
Christ, still retaining much of the ancient manner
in the advancing position of the legs, the drawing of
* Vide Hesiod, Brazen Age, and Plutarch, Life of Theseus.
† Sec Plate XVII.
84
Grecian Scalpture.
the figure, and the perpendicular folds of drapery
disposed in zigzag edges.
Elaborate finishing was soon afterwards carried
to excess undulating locks, and spiral knots of
hair like shells, as well as the drapery, were wrought
with the most elaborate care and exactness; whilst
the tasteless and barbarous character of the face
and limbs remained much the same as in former
times. This passion for high finishing of sculp-
ture will reconcile to our reason a passage in Pliny,
lib. xxxv., cap. 8, which has frequently been thought
to disagree with the general history of ancient
painting. He says that "the picture of the battle
of the Magnetes, painted by Bularchus, was paid
for by its weight in gold, by Candaules, King of
Lydia, who was the coeval of Romulus, and lived
in the 20th Olympiad, or about 750 years before
Christ, thus proving the fame and perfection of the
art." According to the same author's account,
ancient painting did not arrive at its greatest per-
fection until after the time of Phidias, or 250 years
later; and therefore it is likely that Bularchus's
picture was valued chiefly for the same high finishing
we see in the earliest marble statues, of which the
following are examples :- Colossal busts of Hercules
and Apollo in the British Museum, a very ancient
statue of Minerva, probably that done by Diponus
and Scyllis for the Sicyonians; and a priest of
Bacchus, lately in the Villa Albani, published by
winckelman in his “ Monumenta Inedita ” and “ Storia
Grecian Sculpture.
85
dell' Arte:" to these might be added examples of
extreme finishing in early Greek pateras and other
bronzes.
This observation on Bularchus's picture, and the
sculpture of the same time, will naturally lead to
another of more general comprehension: that the
improvements in sculpture, we have reason to
believe, succeeded those in painting, according to the
dates, as far as we are able to ascertain them, of
remaining works.
Philocles the Egyptian, or Cleanthes the Corin-
thian, are said to have first introduced outline among
the Greeks, in the practice of which they were
followed by Ardices the Corinthian, and Telephanes
the Sicyonian, who used other lines within the
outline, to express the marking of the body and
limbs; also, writing the names of those they painted
which agrees with the earliest paintings on the
Greek vases, as their attitudes and peculiarities agree
with early sculpture.* Cimon Cleoneus invented
catagraphy, or the oblique representation of images,
to give different views of the face, looking up,
looking down, and looking backwards. He repre-
sented the veins, and the folds and plaits in garments.
This Cimon is mentioned as living before the time
of Phidias, which offers an additional argument
for believing that improvements in painting preceded
those in sculpture, because oblique views of objects,
and the veins of the body and limbs, seem not
* Pliny.

86
Grecian Sculpture.
to have been attempted before the time of Phidias, in
sculpture.
Fortunately for us, the compendious history of
painting and sculpture left by Pliny was selected
from the writings of the best Grecian artists, and
arranged with attention to the several improvements
in chronological order, with such perspicuity and
comprehension, that whenever, from the brevity of
the work, we do not find all we wish for-yet, by
attending to the information, prior and subsequent,
we shall easily be enabled to supply the defect from
other writings, or monuments of antiquity. In this
manner we shall satisfy ourselves concerning the
progress of sculpture in the 250 years which elapsed
between the age of Dipoenus and Scyllis, and that of
Phidias.
*
The better drawing of the figure, with a more
careful attention to its parts, more precision and
KERRAN C
FƏRİN S
Ang Pand
SA
CLAAS
variety of attitude, a less elaborate curling and
dressing the hair, the form of the figure better shown
through the drapery, are all certain signs of a nearer
approach to the age of Phidias.
From the few historical remarks now offered, it
is evident that sculpture was 800 years, from Dædalus
to the time immediately preceding Phidias, in at-
taining a tolerable resemblance of the human form
which proves the slow growth of art in the infant
state of science; whilst the means of subsistence are
precarious, the rights of individuals undefined, and
the general attention of society is employed on self-

PRAS

Grecian Sculpture.
87
preservation and defence, rather than the increase of
comfort or civilization.
Poetry and oratory, the more independent efforts
of mind, appear in the earliest states of society, and
distinguish man as an intellectual and rational crea-
ture, scatter the first seeds of knowledge, lay down.
theories for the government of future generations,
expand the mind, and direct the powers toward
whatever is most useful and desirable in the more
perfect states of humanity.
The chief occurrences in the early history of
Greece are the Argonautic expedition, the war of
Thebes, and the taking of Troy; in which particular
heroism, or the united achievements of petty states,
are interwoven with poetic fiction. Their conse-
quences produced no considerable change in the
manners of the people, or the character of the
country; but the battles of Marathon and Salamis,
which destroyed the Persian army, whose myriads,
like locusts, swarmed over the country, struck the
first deadly blow to the Persian power, and gave a
beginning to the Grecian, or third great monarchy
of the world.
An event of so much importance, by changing
fortune and transferring power in so large a portion
of the civilized part of mankind, raised the character
of the Greeks, and particularly the Athenians, the
champions of the war; whose heroic ardour, in-
creased by success, sought additional distinction
by every great and praiseworthy exertion of body
88
Grecian Sculpture.
and mind in arts and arms; the accumulated wisdom
of ages, and discoveries in science, were taught by
their philosophers; their temples and public build-
ings were raised with a magnificence unknown before,
and decorated with all the powers of art.
Eschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles ennobled the
minds of the people by their dramatic poetry; the
exercises which formed the body to exertion and
beauty, and the mind to fortitude and patriotism,
were universally practised, cultivated and honoured.
In this general spirit of enterprise and improvement,
sculpture appeared in the school of Phidias with a
beauty and perfection which eclipsed all former
efforts.
About 490 years before the Christian era, Phidias
flourished, at the same time with the philosophers
Socrates, Plato, and Anaxagoras--the statesmen and
commanders Pericles, Miltiades, Themistocles, Ci-
mon, and Xenophon-with the tragic poets above
mentioned. This period was as favourable in its
moral and political circumstances, as in the emulation
of rare talents, to produce the display, and encourage
the growth of genius.
The city and citadel of Athens had been burnt
by the army of Xerxes; but the Greeks, being con-
querors, raised more stately edifices in the places of
those destroyed. Phidias was engaged by Pericles
in the superintendence and decoration of the Temple
of Minerva, and other public works. His superior
genius, in addition to his knowledge of painting,
Grecian Sculpture.
89
which he practised previous to sculpture, gave a
grandeur to his compositions, a grace to his groups,
a softness to flesh, and flow to draperies, unknown
to his predecessors-the character of whose figures
was stiff, rather than dignified; their forms either
meagre or turgid; the folds of drapery parallel, poor,
and resembling geometrical lines, rather than the
simple, but ever-varying, appearances of nature.
The discourses of contemporary philosophers, on
mental and personal perfection, assisted him in
selecting and combining ideas, which stamped his
works with the sublime and beautiful of Homer's
verse.
How this sculptor was esteemed by the ancients
will be understood by such testimonies as the fol-
lowing.* Quintilian says, "His Athenian Minerva
and Olympian Jupiter at Elis possessed beauty
which seemed to have added something to religion,
the majesty of the work was so worthy of the
divinity."
After such positive and magnificent praise as this,
there will be still room for our surprise at the
descriptions, fragments, and other authentic memo-
rials of some works which he conducted and per-
formed.
The Temple of Minerva in the Acropolis of
Athens, erected by Ictinus and Callicrates, was
* Pliny says, “Phidias was most famous throughout ali
nations; and when enumerating the most celebrated sculptors
of antiquity" but before ali, Phidias the Athenian.”
M
90
Grecian Sculpture.
move
Lee Woldstein
1.
Klei
under the direction of Phidias, and to him we prɔ-
bably owe the compositions, style and character of
the sculpture, in addition to much assistance in
drawing, modelling, choice of the nude and dra-
peries, as well as occasional execution of parts in
the marble.
bgmj,'
The emulators of Phidias were Alcamenes, Critias,
Nestocles, and Hegias; twenty years after, Ageladas,
Callon, Polycletus, Phragmon, Gorgias, Lacon,
Myron, Scopas, Pythagoras, and Perillus.
In this list we certainly have the names of the
sculptors employed on the Temples of Minerva and
Theseus, and as the styles of different hands are
sufficiently evident in the alto and basso-relievos, so
there might perhaps be no great difficulty in tracing
some of the artists by resemblance to others of their
known works.
jas.
The two pediments of the Temple of Minerva
were each eighty-eight feet long, filled with com-
positions of entire groups and statues, from eight to
nine feet high. The subject of the western pediment
related to the birth of Minerva, or rather, perhaps,
her introduction to the gods. The eastern pediment
had the contention of Neptune and Minerva for the
patronage of Athens.
Forty-three metops had combats of the Lapithæ
and Centaurs; and a frieze of 380 feet, round the
wall of the temple under the portico, was decorated
with the procession of the Grecian states in honour
of Minerva, in chariots and on horseback, leading
Grecian Sculpture.
91
animals for sacrifice, bearing offerings and present-
ing the sacred veil, in presence of the gods sitting
upon thrones to witness the solemn ceremony.
The Marquis Nantuel had a drawing made of the
western pediment of this temple, when the statues
were all, excepting one, in their places; and, not-
withstanding some mutilation of parts, the whole
was sufficiently entire for the composition to be
perfectly understood.
Specimens of the metops and basso-relievos under
the portico will persuade the beholder, at once, of
their simplicity, grandeur, elegance, and nature;
but, to perfectly judge of their comprehensive ex-
cellence, they must be seen and studied.
Within the temple stood the statue of Minerva,*
thirty-nine feet high, made by Phidias of ivory and
gold, holding a Victory, six feet high, in her right
hand, and a spear in her left, her tunic reaching to
her feet. She had her helmet on, and the Medusa's
head on her ægis; her shield was adorned with the
battle of the gods and giants, the pedestal, with the
birth of Pandora. Plato tells us, that the eyes of
this statue were precious stones.†
But the great work of this chief of sculptors, the
astonishment and praise of after ages, was the
Jupiter at Elis, sitting on his throne, his left hand
holding a sceptre, his right extending Victory to the
Olympian conquerors, his head crowned with olive,
and his pallium decorated with birds, beasts, and
* See Plate XIX. † Greater Hippias. See Plate XX-
92
Grecian Sculpture.
flowers. The four corners of the throne were
dancing Victories, each supported by a sphinx,
tearing a Theban youth. At the back of the throne,
above his head, were the three Hours or Seasons on
one side, and on the other the three Graces. On the
bar between the legs of the throne, and the panels
or spaces between them, were represented many
stories-the destruction of Niobe's children, the
labours of Hercules, the delivery of Prometheus, the
garden of the Hesperides, with the different adven-
tures of the heroic ages. On the base, the battle of
Theseus with the Amazons; on the pedestal, an
assembly of the gods, the sun and moon in their cars,
and the birth of Venus. The height of the work
was sixty feet. The statue was ivory, enriched with
the radiance of golden ornaments and precious
stones, and was justly esteemed one of the seven
wonders of the world.
Several other statues of great excellence, in marble
and in bronze, are mentioned among the works of
Phidias, particularly a Venus, placed by the Romans
in the forum of Octavia-two Minervas, one named
Callimorphus, from the beauty of its form; and it is
likely that the fine statue of this goddess in Mr.
Hope's gallery is a repetition in marble of Phidias's
bronze, from its resemblance, in attitude, drapery,
and helmet, to the reverse of an Athenian silver
coin. Another statue by him was an Amazon, called
Euknemon, from her beautiful leg: there is a print
of this in the Museum Pium Clementinum.
Grecian Sculpture.
93
Alcamenes was celebrated for his* Venus Aphro-
dite, to which Phidias is said to have given the last
touches.
Praxiteles excelled in the highest graces of youth
and beauty. He is said to have excelled not only
other sculptors, but himself, by his marble statues
in the Ceramicus of Athens; but his Venus was
preferable to all others in the world, and many
sailed to Cnidos for the purpose of seeing it. This
sculptor having made two statues of Venus,† one
with drapery, the other without, the Coans preferred
the clothed figure, on account of its severe modesty,
the same price being set upon each. The citizens
of Cnidos took the rejected statue, and afterwards
refused it to King Nicomedes, who would have for-
given them an immense debt in return; but they
were resolved to suffer anything so long as this
statue by Praxiteles ennobled Cnidos. The temple
was entirely open in which it was placed, because
every view was equally admirable. This figure is
known by the descriptions of Liccian and Cedrenus,
and it is represented on a medal of Caracalla and
Plautilla, in the imperial cabinet of France. This
Venus was still in Cnidos during the reign of the
Emperor Arcadius, about 400 years after Christ.
This statue seems to offer the first idea of the Venus
de Medicis, which is likely to be the repetition of
another Venus, also the work of this artist, mentioned
by Pliny.
*See Plate XXI. + Sce Plates XXII. and XXIII.
17 This list heptanes of
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Grecian Sculpture, why
why mom
KOM MED
94

An Ama

On the reverse of the Empress Lucilla's medals is
a clothed Venus with an apple in her right hand,
which, from the grace of its attitude and its resem-
blance to several antique marble statues, is likely to
be the clothed Venus chosen by the Coans.
Among the known works of Praxiteles are his
Satyr, Cupid, Apollo the lizard-killer, and Bacchus
leaning on a fawn.
Polycletus of Sicyon, the scholar of Agelades, was
particularly celebrated on account of his Doryphorus,
or lance-bearer,* and Diadumenus, † or youth binding
a fillet round his head. The Doryphorus was called
the "rule" by artists, from which they studied the
forms, outline, or lineaments.
The Discobolus of Myron is ascertained by an
antique gem, and the description given by Quintilian,
who apologizes for its forced attitude. An ancient
example of this figure is in the British Museum.
The Discobolus of Naucydes is universally admired
for its form and momentary balance.
The wounded man, in which might be seen how
much of life remained, was the famous work of
Ctesilaus, and perhaps is the same as the statue
commonly called the dying gladiator, but more pro-
perly a dying herald or hero, according to Winckel-
man.
Ctesilaus is known by his wounded Amazon.
*Molliter Juvenem.
Viriliter Puerum. This statue was valued at a hundred
talents.
See Plate XXIV.
Grecian Sculpture.
95
The nine Muses by Philiscus of Rhodes are men-
tioned by Pliny, and the Muses brought by Fulvius
Nobilior to Rome; from one of these series must be
the greater number of those in the Pope's Museum,
of which the comedy is remarkable for grace, and
the tragedy for grandeur.*
The Hermaphrodite of Polycles is one of the most
delicate and graceful productions of antiquity.
The Apollo Philesius (or in love) by Canachus is
seen in many fine repetitions in the different galleries
of Europe.
The Ganymede borne by the eagle, in the Pope's
Museum, is exactly described by Pliny.
The Apollo Belvidere is believed by the learned
Visconti to be Apollo 'Aλetikakos (the deliverer from
evil) of Calamis, mentioned both by Pliny and
Pausanias. The history of its removals is given in
the "Museum Pium Clementinum."† Only one
small antique repetition of this statue has been
found.
Admirable and sublime in its beauty as it is, there
is a reason which perhaps might render it less
popular with the ancients than the moderns. Maxi-
mus Tyrius describes a statue by Phidias very
similar to this, but more in motion, either dis-
charging an arrow, or preparing to do so. There
are traces of this statue in some ancient basso-
* Casts of the Muses in the Royal Academy.
+ Museum Capitolinum, and Museum Clementinum, Volume of
Statues, p. 21.
96
1
Grecian Sculpture.
tr
↑ \ ) } .
relievos, and it is possible the stronger expression of
Phidias's work, together with the authority of his
name, might have diminished the public attention to
Calamis in a comparative production.
The Venus de Medici was so much a favourite of
the Greeks and Romans, that a hundred ancient
repetitions of this statue have been noticed by tra-
vellers. The individual figure is said to have been
found in the forum of Octavia. The style of sculp-
ture seems to have been later than Alexander the
Great, and the idea of this statue appears to have
its origin from the Venus of Cnidos.
We may now notice some statues of great excel-
lence which Pliny has not mentioned, and no wonder
they are omitted, when, of more than 11,000 reckoned
in his history, he professes to give a catalogue of
about five hundred only.
The colossal statues on Monte Cavallo in Rome,
we may fairly presume to be the works of Phidias
and Praxiteles, as inscribed on their pedestals, be-
cause the animated character and style of sculpture
seems peculiar to the age in which those artists
lived; and because in the frieze of the Parthenon
there is a young hero* governing a horse, which
bears so strong a resemblance to those groups, that
it would be difficult to believe it was not a first idea
for them by one of those artists.
The heroic statue (by Agasias the Ephesian),
commonly called the fighting gladiator, is shown by
* Bellerophon.

Grecian Sculpture.
97
the ingenious and learned Abbate Fea to be Ajax,
the son of Oileus, as his figure is so represented on
the coins of Locris, his country.
The Hercules Farnese, the style is later than the
time of Alexander.
We should now proceed to those precious monu-
ments of art, the ancient groups, in which we see
the sentiment, heroism, beauty and sublimity of
Greece existing before us; but these have been
described with such pathos and justness of character
by your excellent professor of painting,* that nothing
more is necessary at present than to show some re-
presentations of them.
The group of Laocoon, animated with the hope-
less agony of the father and sons, is the work of
Apollodorus, Athenodorus, and Agesander of Rhodes.
The style of this work, as well as the manner in
which Pliny introduces it in his history, gives
us reason to believe it was not ancient in his time,
as your professor of painting has already observed.
Zethus and Amphion tying Dirce to the bull's
horns, an example of filial vengeance for a perse-
cuted mother, is as heroic in conception as vast ir
execution. The restorations of this group are so bad
that they only become tolerable by something like
an assimilation of spirit in their union with the
ancient and venerable fragment. It is the work of
Apollonius, and Tauriscus, of Rhodes.
The group of Hercules and Antæus, in the Palace
*The late Mr. Fuseli.
H
98
Grecian Sculpture.
Pitti at Florence, may be a marble copy from the
bronze, on which the copyist inscribed the name of
the original artist.
The groups of Atreus bearing a dead son of Thy-
estes, Orestes and Electra, and Ajax supporting
Patroclus, are all examples of fine form, heroic
character, and sentiment. There seems to be only
one reason for their being omitted by Pliny-—that
they were, at that time, too recent to have obtained
an equal rank in public estimation with the fine
works of Phidias, Praxiteles, and their immediate.
descendants.
The group of Niobe and her youngest daughter,
by Scopas, is an example of heroic beauty in
maturer age. The sentiment is maternal affection.
She exposes her own life to shield her child from the
threatened destruction.
The separate statues of the children all partake of
the same heroic beauty, mixed with the passions of
apprehension, dismay, or death.
To this series belongs that fine example of ana-
tomical study in difficult but harmonious composi
tion, the group of wrestlers.
The beautiful and interesting group of Cupid and
Psyche is not mentioned by Pliny, perhaps for the
same reason that several other fine works were
not-because it was after the times of those great
masters, who were looked on as the standards of
excellence in his days. It is more likely to have
been produced after the reign of Augustus, when
Grecian Sculpture.
99
the Pythagorean philosophy was revived, from which
its subject is taken.
From what has been said, it will appear that
sculpture did not arrive at maturity until the age
of Phidias, 490 years before the Christian era; and
Pliny's chronological catalogue of the most cele-
brated Greek artists continues 160 years later, or
to 330 before Christ: after which time, however,
the Laocoon, and several of the finest groups and
statues, seem to have been executed. Nor can we
believe, from the admirable busts and statues of the
imperial families still remaining, that sculpture began
to lose its graces until the reign of the Antonines ;
and, indeed, so strong were the stamina of Grecian
genius in the arts of design, that after the time of
the Iconoclastes, in the fifth and sixth centuries,
when the noblest works were destroyed, even then,
and until Constantinople was taken by the Turks in
the fifteenth century, the Greeks executed small
works of great elegance, as may be seen in the
dyptics, or ivory covers to consular records, or to
sacred volumes used in the church service.
The works of sculpture here enumerated will
show, that nearly all the greatest and most valued
productions were of marble, and not bronze, as
some have been led to believe; and although several
celebrated statues mentioned by Pliny were bronze,
from which we have marble copies, yet all the
groups, with two or three exceptions only, are marble,
and some of the most admired statues, viz., those
100
Grecian Sculpture.
...
MU
of the Venuses and Cupid by Praxiteles, with many
others.
Sicyon had long been the workshop of metals
in early times. Egina was also famous for bronze
sculpture, and, according to the same author, con-
tinued the Egyptian style
Etruscan sculpture must be considered entirely
Greek-the work of Greek colonists and their
disciples.
The Sicilian sculpture is also Grecian; some of
their finest medals in particular are of the Corin-
thian school.
The principal schools of sculpture were unques-
tionably Athens and Rhodes: the sculptors of the
Laocoon, the Torso Farnese, and the Colossus, were
Rhodians; and it is almost incredible that, from
this little island, only forty miles long and thirteen
broad, the Roman conquerors brought away 3000
statues !
101

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LECTURE IV.
ON SCIENCE.
In a general view of painting and sculpture, fol-
lowed by a careful attention to the principles of
design requisite to the elevated and extensive prac-
tice of those arts, we shall find that they are inti-
mately connected with a considerable portion of the
circle of knowledge, whether we regard them as
engaged in the representation of the human figure
singly, or in the variety of epic and historical com-
position.
sand dolla
Lahde La Con
The human figure cannot be represented without
an accurate acquaintance with the structure of the
bones, muscles, tendons, veins, and nerves, together
with a knowledge of the several organs which con-
tribute their functions to the continuation of life,
whether the subject is in action or at rest. This
information is generally understood to be gained by
the science of anatomy; but then, it must be as-
sisted by the geometrical forms of the bones, the
mechanical structure and movement of the joints,
the laws of extension and contraction in the muscles,
with a variety of phenomena relating to the internal


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ܝܢܐ ܡܕܘܐ ܡܟ ܡ

102
On Science.
economy, and indicated in the exterior of the human
form.
The arts of design are connected with all the
numerous branches of human knowledge. The doc-
trines of theology and the ideas of philosophy are
manifested to our comprehension by visible figures
and symbols. They demonstrate geometrical and
mathematical science-illustrate the anatomy and
economy of animals-connect the series of natural
phenomena and productions, even to the lower strata
of the earth, and the depths of the sea. Those arts
arrest Time himself in his course, and deliver from
his destructive progress the heroes of antiquity, the
chorus of Helicon, the synod of Olympus, and theo-
logies of the east; they make intimates of antiquity
and posterity; they set before the naturalist the
several orders of creation; they exhibit to the geo-
grapher men and countries which others have seen
for him; and they assist the astronomer in figuring
the starry heavens !
Such are the powers and offices of these arts,
enlightening an early age with the dawn of know-
ledge, pouring a fuller blaze upon succeeding times,
engaging the affections in worthy contemplations
and employment, exalting the intelligence, and
assisting its important, its most exalted pursuits.
After our conviction of the utility and excellence
of the arts of design, the next inquiry will be, by
what course of study shall we be most readily led to
a successful practice of them? This question may
weny
We've hemo
His mma
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On Science.

103
be answered nearly in the words of Socrates “by
the study of the human form, animated by the human
soul; because the human form is the most perfect of
all forms, and contains in it the principles and powers
of all inferior forms.
""
Man was called by the ancients "a little world,”
because the faculties of his mind determined his
claim to intellectual being, whilst his body partook
of the common principles of natural existence. Reve-
lation is satisfactory and decided on this subject-
God created man in His own image—
and according to this testimony remaining in the
pagan world, they represented divinities, angels,
good genii, and heroes, in the most beautiful human
forms.
We certainly know that, in those countries where
the figure and character of man have been most
diligently studied and analyzed, there, consequently,
he has breathed in marble, and animated the canvas.
The inferior animals and orders of nature have been
also most exactly represented. If this assertion
required the confirmation of proof, we might appeal
to the hall of animals in the Pope's Museum, where,
among the specimens of ancient sculpture, are seen
entire, and in fragments, quadrupeds, from the most
noble to the most inconsiderable,-various orders of
birds and reptiles, many remarkable for elegance,
and almost every one so natural that they seem nature
iransformed to stone.

104
On Science.
The tetradrachms, or larger silver coins of Mace-
don, have horses on them of exquisite beauty.
But we possess in England the most precious
examples of Grecian power in the sculpture of
animals. The horses of the frieze in the Elgin
collection appear to live and move, to roll their eyes,
to gallop, prance, and curvet; the veins of their
faces and legs seem distended with circulation; in
them are distinguished the hardness and decision of
bony forms, from the elasticity of tendon, and the
softness of flesh. The beholder is charmed with the
deer-like lightness and elegance of their make, and
although the relief is not above an inch from the
background, and they are so much smaller than
nature, we can scarcely suffer reason to persuade us
they are not alive.
In those countries where the arts of design have
been more admired for colossal size, and indefatigable
labour, than for intelligence and sentiment, the
figures of animals were most imperfect in those parts
and those expressions least understood in the human
figure.
Thus we have positive and negative proof, that
the human form, as it is the first in the order
and dignity of creation, comprehending the nobler
powers, qualities, and forms of inferior creatures, so,
by natural consequence, it is the great and principal
object of study in the arts of design.
The earliest imitations of the human figure in all
nations have been rude, disproportioned, and insipid
On Science.
105
and these characteristics remain in the more advanced
attempts of Mexico, India, and Egypt. The earliest
productions of Greece had no superior claim to pre-
ference over those of other barbarians. The chief
employments in those times were providing food,
conducting an attack against their neighbours, or
securing themselves from invasion on inaccessible
mountains, and within impregnable fortifications.
In such a state of society men see objects generally,
understand them imperfectly, and represent them
rudely.
The human figure-so astonishing in its structure,
combining so many principles and powers-so beau-
tiful and engaging in its contour and colours—so
varied by sex, age, motion, and sentiment-cannot
be represented from cursory and ignorant obser-
vation it must be understood before it can be
imitated Therefore, Greek sculpture did not rise
to excellence until anatomy, geometry, and numbers
had enabled the artist to determine his drawing,
2
proportions, and motion; then, and not before, a
just expression might be infused in the truth and
harmony of parts, and the artist endowed his statue
with life, action, and sentiment.
VUR
Antsa

imilation not quulsan

The present Lecture will be a compendium of
this subject, collected from Hippocrates, Galen,
Pliny, Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci, and Borelli,
considered under the heads of anatomy and outline,
proportions and mechanical motion.
The writings of Hippocrates and Galen instruct
emnotahan
KYAR
106
On Science.
us in the science of anatomy among the Greeks,
from the time of Phidias to the age of Antoninus
Pius, when sculpture had sensibly declined, conse-
quently including those successive periods in which
all the nobler works had been produced.
Pliny the elder has preserved a chronological
history of artists and their works, from the earliest
ages to his own time, extracted from the writings
of distinguished painters and sculptors, and contain-
ing many of their scientific rules for professional
practice.
Vitruvius has preserved from the writings of
Greek artists the most approved proportions of the
human figure, and the application of diagrams to
include and determine the extent of its motion.
Leonardo da Vinci's invaluable memoranda on
painting, abound in the most useful observations on
the mechanical powers and muscular action of the
human frame.
Borelli, a Neapolitan physician, wrote an ingenious
treatise on the motion of animals, which was published
in the year 1685: to these authors the present
Lecture is chiefly indebted, and this general acknow-
ledgment is intended to supersede the necessity of
interrupting the course of our subject by particular
quotations.
A critical comparison of the noblest examples of
ancient sculpture with the contemporary state of
science, enables us to determine what they owe to
rules, and what to the immediate and particular

ONE of the best one is connectress
basis of
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study of individual nature: this will guard against
mistaking faults for beauties, and, above all, establish
principles for our own practice.
9hmas.
in the Bure
Poliavie
Our purpose requires that we should leave to
the professed antiquary all attention to those times
when rude stones were called divinities, as the
Ephesian Diana and Samian Juno; little better than
shapeless blocks. We shall, therefore, begin with
the earliest attempts at imitation of parts and pro-
portion.
Small bronze statues* exist in different museums
of Europe, which stand perpendicularly upright,
their legs nearly close together, their arms fixed to
their sides, their heads rather large, the hair straight,
the eyes full, the nose flattish, the lower part of the
face and chin projecting. A little fulness for each
breast, and a slight indication of the line formed on
each side of the thorax by the terminations of the
ribs, are the only parts distinguished in front of the
body. The shoulders and arms are meagre, and
have little variety in the outline; the thighs are
full, so are the calves of the legs; the joints are
scarcely noticed; their proportions are rather
dwarfish, seldom exceeding six heads and a half in
height.
The next considerable improvements in the figures
are chiefly found on painted vases or basso-relievos
of Bacchanalian subjects, or processions of divini-
ties;† and, as far as we are able to judge from
* See Plate XVI. † Mercury, Venus, Juno, Minerva.
Smetang
els
7
108
On Science.
coins,* and the progress of science, we have reason
to believe they were not more than a hundred years
before Phidias. These improvements consisted of
a greater variety and violence of action, a bolder
distinction of the knees, elbows, edge of the pelvis,
the ribs, and the ankles; the muscles turgid and
tendonous, proper to continual and vigorous exer-
tion.
By comparing the monuments of antiquity with
each other, and with contemporary authors, we ascer-
tain their history, unravel their philosophy, and
determine their science. Thus, sculpture executed
in the time of Phidias and his immediate successors,
presents the portrait of the human figure in the
full development of its powers, and perfection of its
beauty, by gymnastic exercises-at the same time
that its anatomical forms are decided with the same
simplicity, elegance, and comprehensive greatness,
which are equally admired in the work of the artist
and the writings of Hippocrates. As a natural and
certain consequence of the sculptor's intelligence
being formed on the physician's instructions, the
system was the simplest and boldest division of parts,
and breadth of masses, that imitation of nature
permits.+
The general forms were, the head rounded, the
face oval, the neck like a portion of a column, the
*Tydeus. Museo Pio Clementino, vol. I. of Statues, No. 7
-Plate A.
Frieze in the Temple of Theseus.
On Science.
109
shoulders one curve from the neck to the bottom of
the deltoid muscle, the mass of the body bounded
at the bottom by the line of the pelvis (or basin
bone), above which the oblique "descensens" muscle
projects distinctly. A line divides the front of the
body to the gullet of the navel. This is intersected
at right angles by curve lines, above the pit of the
stomach, from the breast-bone to the arm-pit, pro-
duced by the fulness of the breasts. A line nearly
semicircular indicates the extremities of the ribs.
The abdomen sinks in below the true ribs, and
narrows this part of the body across the loins. The
arm tapers as it descends to its junction with the
hand it is flattened on the outside below the del-
toid, till the rise in the upper part of the lower
arm, occasioned by the supinator longus. The inside.
of the upper arm is also flattened down to the lower
internal projection of the humerus.
The lower limb, composed of the thigh, leg, and
foot, is rather more than half the whole length of the
figure, divided at, and measured from the os pubis.
It is longer and stouter than the arm; its general
form is tapered down to the ankle; the patella is
described by an oval, the inner side of the shin-bone
is marked by a curve of thirty degrees, from the
upper part of which the calf of the leg projects.
The outside of the leg is also curved, and the pro-
jection of the inner ankle is rather higher than the
projection of the lower ankle.
Such are the general characteristics of outline
110
On Science,
and marking in the front view of the human figure,
most carefully and rigidly observed in the statues,*
basso-relievos, and painted vases, from the age of
Pericles and Phidias to the time of Lysippus and
Alexander.
*
The outline of boundary is of necessity the same
in the geometrical front and back views of the
figure, and they differ only in the interior forms and
markings.
The back, from the shoulders to the loins, is
comprehended in two generally rounded masses,
divided by a narrow channel. The blade-bones,
with their muscles, present a rounded flattened form
on the greatest projection of each mass. The loins
are small, hollowed in, and flat, between the masses
above described and the more compressed projection
of the nates.
In the side view of the figure, whether in action
or at rest, was well observed that wonderful coun-
terpoise of parts, on either side of the centre of
gravity, which balances so tall and complicated a
structure as the human figure on so small a basement
as its feet, the head leaning forward counteracted by
the shoulders, these by the abdomen, the abdomen
by the nates, and the bending forward of the upper
mass as far as the knees, counteracted by the
extension of the feet forward, which confirms the
support when standing, accelerates progression, and
assists a leap with the powers of the lever.
* Apollo Belvidere.
On Science.
111
This detail of parts, demonstrated by the ancient
works, will convince the younger student that the
human figure can only be represented in proportion
as it is understood.
Thus the Greeks were enabled to represent the
figure with precision, boldness, and character, from
their general knowledge of its internal structure.
and parts, the harmony of its proportions, and the
laws of its mechanical motion. These principles
of science they derived from the instructions of
Hippocrates, and the schools of Pythagoras and
Plato.
This mode of proceeding was rational and true,
founded on the order of nature, and accounting for
effects by their causes, and showing the causes in
their effects; it was, consequently, the most success-
ful, and its superiority is proved by the excellence it
has produced.
Naked representations of the human figure in
Gothic sculpture, from the fifth century to the four-
teenth, are destitute of anatomy, proportions and just
motion. Those branches of science were neither
studied nor understood in those ages, consequently
they could not infuse their magic wonders into the
labours of painting and sculpture. The ignorant
effort was of necessity clumsy, mean, insipid, and
unintelligible.
The school of Giovanni di Bologna exhibits de-
fects in the opposite extreme-anatomical pedantry
and licentious affectation of graceful movement-the
112
On Science.
extravagance of which is no less distant from the
beautiful simplicity of nature, than the insipid bar-
barity of Gothic carving and painting.
These comparative observations are introduced as
a further confirmation that the excellence of the
Grecian theory was the real foundation of excellent
practice.
There is reason to believe that those groups and
statues which are pre-eminent in the display of
anatomical skill were not executed until after the
age of Alexander the Great, when Hierophilus and
Erasistratus had enlarged the bounds of anatomical
science, by numerous dissections in the school of
Alexandria. Of this there is abundant evidence,
historical and scientific, as well as internal, in the
ancient sculpture itself.
After the age of Alexander the Great, anatomical
detail became more defined and particular, but with-
out destroying the breadth of masses; for example,
the masses in the body and limbs of the young Her-
cules* in the British Museum are the same, in their
general forms, as those of the heroes combating with
the centaurs in the Parthenon, or in the frieze of the
Temple of Theseus. They are, however, bolder in
this statue, in proportion as it is more muscular.
The details in front are the mastoidæus, on each side
of the neck the clavicle, the pectoral muscle, the
edge of the ribs nearly semicircular, the serrati and
oblique descendens, the recti of the abdomen, with
* By Lysippus.
On Science.
113
its horizontal divisions ending at the pubes, which,
with the edge of the pelvis, terminates the trunk.
The details of the lower limb differ little from the
former description, excepting that the knee-pan and
the ankle-bones are more strongly marked, the
membranous insertion of the biceps is distinct, and
the peronæus muscle is seen on the side of the leg.
In the back view of this figure, the trapezius is
defined at its insertion in the edge of the scapula,
and continued to its pointed termination: above the
spine of the scapula it unites in a mass with the
supra spinatus, then follows the spine of the scapula,
and the whole mass of the scapula is completed by
the union of the infra spinatus, the teres minor and
the teres major in one form. The acromion is dis-
tinctly seen, and the rounded top of the humerus is
indicated in the deltoid, which is strongly divided
from the muscles of the arm beneath. The protube-
rance of the triceps is bold; the biceps is bold, broad,
and squared towards the bottom. The bones which
form the elbow are carefully distinguished: the head
of the ulna in the middle, on the inside of the lower
point of the humerus, and on the outside; the lower
condyle or swelling of the same bone at its union
with the radius.
In the ages after Phidias, it is true, we observe a
greater particularity of anatomical finish and detail;
but, at the same time, we see a choice selection of
those simple geometrical forms which in bone,
muscle, and tendon are strongest, most efficient and
SEATER but makes

The Geometry
amatany = 22 Uwentying
Rimme
mission, in
114
On Science.
elegant, whether the subject be masculine or femi-
nine, strong or delicate.
It must not be supposed that those simple geome-
trical forms of body and limbs, in the divinities and
heroes of antiquity, depended upon accidental choice,
or blind and ignorant arbitration. They are, on the
contrary, a consequence of the strict and extensive
examination of nature, of rational inquiry into its
most perfect organization and physical well-being,
expressed in outward appearance; they are proper
to the blossom of youth, and the full flower of
maturity; they are the signs of a firm, consistent
and harmonious structure, healthful juices and
elastic tendon. Such characteristics assist the mind
in rising towards the contemplation of real per-
fection, which is simplicity and unity itself: such.
forms are directly opposite to those of division, in-
firmity, and decay.
The group of boxers, and the statue called a fight-
ing gladiator, but in reality the lesser Ajax, exhibit
the greatest muscular display in violent action. The
forced action of the boxers renders the muscular con-
figuration of their shoulders so different in appear-
ance from moderate action and states of rest, that we
may derive a double advantage from the anatomical
consideration of their forms: first, we shall learn the
cause of each particular form, and, secondly, we
shall be convinced how rationally and justly the
ancients copied nature.
In the right shoulder of the upper figure, the
On Science.
115
acromion of the scapula is distinctly seen; the
backward portion of the deltoid arising from the
spine of the scapula; the head of the humerus bone
next to the acromion:—the angle and base of the
scapula are bordered by a considerable swelling of
the teres major, and the trapezius. in a continued
mass.
The left shoulder of the same figure shews the
three divisions of the deltoides distinctly, with the
projection of the head of the humerus in the upper
part of the middle portion. The spine of the scapula
is marked by a channel under the swelling of the
trapezius and supra spinatus, and above the infra
spinatus and teres major.
The right arm of the lower figure is forcibly held
backwards, which occasions the hindmost portion of
the deltoid to fold towards the spine of the scapula.
The other muscles of the scapula, and immediately
about it, present only a common appearance, because
they are not particularly exerted.
The whole left shoulder of this figure is exerted to
the utmost in assisting the arm to support the weight
of the superincumbent figure. The whole surface
has an opposite appearance to the right arm, which
is forced backwards, and therefore the scapula lies
in a hollow between the arm and back-bone. The
left shoulder is rounded by its position, and the
muscles of the left scapula are swollen by effort into
one mass, in which the acromion only makes one
very distinct form.
116
On Science.
There is the same careful attention to effort, and
inaction, in the back of the gladiator throughout its
parts, and indeed throughout the figure.
We may now advert to the causes which brought
about the anatomical distinction in the forms of the
gods.
Hipparchus,* a few years before the birth of
Phidias, had formed a public library for the Athe-
nians, in which were placed the works of Homer,
which he had collected and arranged; as they were
more complete than generally known before, they
became more popular. Socrates employed their
language in moral discourses, and Plato in images
and reasoning to embody and convey the theologies
of Orpheus and Pythagoras.
The poets formed tragedies from the "Iliad" and the
"Thebais." Homer supplied subjects for the painter
and sculptor; his descriptions fixed the persons and
attributes of their gods.
Phidiast seems to have been the first in this
reformation. Minerva, who had before appeared
harsh and elderly, was by him rendered beautiful.
His Jupiter was awful as when his nod shook the
poles, but benignant as when he smiled on his
daughter Venus, according to Homer's description.
The anatomical forms selected from powerful nature,
presented a massy breast and shoulders, projecting
muscles above the hip-bone, the limb strong, without
heaviness, and the whole figure mighty.
* Plato's Hipparchus. † See Plates XIX. and XX.
On Science.
117
The character of the father of gods and men
being determined, settled a scale of gradation for
his progeny; they were more sublime near him, and
less perfect by removal.
Of the sons of Jupiter, Bacchus was the next
divinity whose form was sublimated. As Phidias
determined the character of the father of the gods,
so did the graceful Praxiteles that of Bacchus, who
inspires poets, and to whom tragedy was peculiarly
dedicated by the Athenians.
Apollo soon became so like his brother Bacchus,
that it is not always easy to distinguish one from the
other; yet Bacchus has more softness, and Apollo
greater energy.
Mercury, as patron of gymnastic exercises, is
rather more robust than his brothers.
The masses in the forms of these divinities' are
little divided; the limbs are simple, flowing in gentle
undulation for balance and motion, or quicker curves
at the joints.
Hercules, whose labours in difficulty and number
were increased by succeeding poets, was more strong
and turgid after the time of Alexander the Great,
until he became the irresistible hero represented by
Glycon in his statue.
Of inferior heroes, Ajax the lesser, and the male
figure in the group of Hæmon and Antigone, together
with the group of boxers, have the anatomical forms
divided with distinctions as numerous as could have
been made by any modern.
118
On Science.
After the osteology and anatomy of the human
figure, we will consider the balance, motion, and
mechanical powers according to the ancients.
Pamphilus, the Macedonian painter, under whom
Apelles studied ten years, was learned in all science,
particularly arithmetic and geometry, without which,
he declared, art could not be perfected.
How geometry and arithmetic were applied to
the study of the human figure, Vitruvius informs us
from the writings of the Greek artists, perhaps from
those of Pamphilus himself.
A man* (says he) may be so placed with his arms
and legs extended, that his navel being made the
centre, a circle can be drawn round, touching the
extremities of his fingers and toes.
In the like manner, a man * standing upright,
with his arms extended, is enclosed in a square,
the extreme extent of his arms being equal to his
height.
Pliny speaks of improvements in the balance of
the figure by some artists, and the neglect of it, and
consequent defects, in the works of others.
How well the ancients understood the nature of
balance is proved by the two books of Archimedes
on that subject; besides, it is impossible to see the
numerous figures springing, jumping, dancing, and
falling, in the Herculaneum paintings, on the painted
vases and the antique basso-relievos, without being
assured that the painters and sculptors must have
*Plate XXVI.
On Science.
119
employed geometrical figures to determine the
degrees of curvature in the body and angular or
rectilinear extent of the limbs, and to fix the centre
of gravity.
We shall, therefore, proceed in this delightful
subject, to some general demonstrations, according
to the method of the great Leonardo da Vinci, and
the distinguished Borelli, as laid down in his work
on the motion of animals.
Extent of motion in the skeleton.*
Front. A, body. B, the head. C, arm. D, thigh
and leg.
Side. A, arm. B, leg. C, leg and thigh bent
under the figure.
From the top of the head the balance or equi
librium of the figure is caused by equality of its
parts about the centre of gravity.
When we speak of the centre of gravity, or gravi-
tation of the human figure, the principle is referred
to by which all bodies upon the earth tend to its
centre, as a ray tends to the centre of a circle.
The centre of gravity in the human figure is an
imaginary straight line, which falls from the gullet
between the ankles to the ground, when it is perfectly
upright, equally poised on both feet, with the hands
hanging down on each side.†
†Motion is the change of position, caused by
inequality of parts about the centre of gravity.
The first motion in the standing figure throws the
+ Plate XXIX.
Plates XXVII. XXVIII.
120
On Science.
weight on one leg; in consequence, the centre of
gravity, or gravitating line, falls from the gullet on
one leg, the shoulder on the same side being lowered,
the shoulder on the opposite side raised, the hip and
knee sinking below those on the side which supports
the weight.
Preparing to run.*
Preparing to run is throwing the balance beyond
the standing foot.
Striking.*
When the action begins, the figure is thrown back
to give force to the blow, and springs forward to
the lighter line when the fall of the blow ends the
action.
Bearing a Weight.†
The centre of gravity is the centre of the incum-
bent weight, falling between the feet, if supported
by both, or on the supporting foot.
Preparing to Leap.†
To take the spring, the body and thighs are drawn
together; the muscles of the leg draw up the heel,
so that the figure rests on the ball of the foot; the
arms are thrown back-they assist like wings in the
impulse. When the figure alights, the arms are
raised above the head, and the centre of gravity is
near the heels.
* Plate XXX.
+ Plate XXXI.
On Science.
121
Leaning.*
When leaning on more points than one, the greatest
weight is about that point on which it chiefly rests.
Flying and Falling.*
Flying and falling figures rest on no point, being
in motion through the air, but the heaviest portion
of the figures rising, denotes flying; as the heaviest
portion sinking, determines the falling figure. With-
out a due attention to these principles, no movement
or action can be well expressed, and with their
assistance, the finest efforts of ancient and modern
art have been produced; the most pathetic, energetic,
and graceful attitudes of Raffaelle and Correggio
are exemplifications. Excellent lessons on this subject
are given by Leonardo da Vinci in his Treatise on
Painting.'
Every change of position or action in the human
figure will present the diligent student with some
new application of principles, and some valuable
example for his imitation.
It has been observed, that Vitruvius, from the
writings of the most eminent Greek painters and
sculptors, informs us, that they made their figures
eight heads high, or ten faces, and he instances dif-
ferent parts of the figure measured accordingly to
that rule, which the great Michael Angelo adopted,
as we see by a print from a drawing of his.
*Plate XXXII.
122
On Science.
We shall make use of this method in giving the
most general proportions of nature and the antique
statues.
PROPORTIONS.*
Divisions of the Human Figure in Length.
From the os pubis to the top of the head one half,
from the same point to the sole of the foot, the other
half.
There are three equal divisions from the acro-
mion of the scapula to the bottom of the inner
ankle :-
First, from the acromion to the point in the spine
of the ilium, from which the rectus and sartorius
muscles begin.
Second, from thence to the top of the patella.
Third, from the top of the patella to the bottom of
the inner ankle.
From the bottom of the pubis to the bottom of the
patella is the same length as from the bottom of the
patella to the sole of the foot, two heads each; but,
we must observe, the ancients generally allowed half
a nose or more to the length of the lower limbs,
exceeding the length of the body and head.
Breadth.
Shoulders
Loins
Across the hips or trochanters.
2 heads.
1 head and 1 nose, or 5 noses.
1 head, 2 noses, or a head and .
*Plate XXIX.
On Science.
123
A
Chest
Loins
Glutæi
Thigh
Calf of the leg
Ankle
Foot.
Upper arm,
Side view of do.
Depth.
Length of the Arm.
From the top of the humerus to the bend of the arm
From the bend of the arm to the first knuckles
front view
I head, 4 minutes.
3 noses and
1 head.
Breadth of the Thigh.
3 noses.
2 noses.
1 nose.
1 head and of a nose long.
ļ
Lower arm, thickest part
Wrist
Breadth.
1 nose and .
2 noses.
1 nose and .
1 nose.
•
1 head and 1.
1 head and .
The female figure should not be so tall as the male;
the shoulders and loins should be narrower, and the
hips broader.
TET KAUST 18,
REBA I SASA ANAK AN VAXTLAR
The proportions of the Hercules Farnese, and
the Torso Belvidere, are nearly one-fifth more in
breadth than other statues; but the ancients varied
the proportions according to the character and age
of the person. There are examples of the Silenus,
and Hercules also when he partook of the same
character, exceedingly dwarfish, not exceeding four
or five heads in height, and there are examples on
some of the Greek vases of figures nine or ten heads
high.
124
On Science.
PERSPECTIVE.
We have the most satisfactory system of ancient
perspective in the principles laid down by Vitruvius:
and in Euclid's Book of Optics,' which contains no
description of the eye, or nature of its vision, but
consists of sixty-one propositions, on the manner in
which rays pass from objects to the eye, the angles
they make, and consequently present them as nearer,
or more distant, greater or less, according as they
are seen in a parallel or in a diagonal plane; nor
does it give rules for the perspective of circles, or
the intersections of the visual rays. The modern
improvement in perspective which determines depths,
enabled Michael Angelo* to give bolder fore-shorten-
ings, and more complicated groups, than the ancients
did or could attempt with their imperfect perspec-
tive, and which in design, or low relief, has the
magical effect of "much in a little."
Such general hints concerning science, employed
by the ancients in painting and sculpture, may assist
the young artist in forming principles for the course
of his studies, and precede the investigation of the
nature and qualities of beauty, which will be offered
in the next lecture.
* See Plates XXXIII. and XXXIV.

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10 be

LECTURE V
BEAUTY.
THAT beauty is not merely an imaginary quality,
but a real essence, may be inferred from the harmony
of the universe; and the perfection of its wondrous
parts we may understand from all surrounding
nature; and in this course of observation we find
that man has more of beauty bestowed on him as he
rises higher in creation.
In the contemplation of our solar system, the
splendour of the sun and inferior planets, their
magnitude, almost incomprehensible to us, their
gravitation, the vastness of their revolutions, bring-
ing the regular succession and return of day and night,
with the different seasons, all astonish us in their
various circumstances; if we proceed in observation
to the starry heavens, crowded with suns, the centres.
of other systems, we are lost in amazement, and our
faculties are overwhelmed.

The objects which surround us on the earth we
inhabit are more commensurate to our comprehension
and intelligence, and in them we trace wonders
126
Beauty.
equally enforcing by their beauty and order, the con-
viction of power and goodness.
The earth, its history and productions-the sea,
its phenomena and contents-the vegetable and
mineral kingdoms,-have employed, and will con-
tinue to employ, the wisest of men in the most
delightful speculations and extraordinary discoveries.
The pursuit of each person must be allotted by his
station, whilst the industry of each contributes to the
circle of knowledge.
Our present object will be, after some general
observations on the animal kingdom, to inquire into
the excellence of man in his real essence, and its
effects on his external appearance-his intelligible
alliance with superior natures, or degeneracy and
abasement in resemblance to the brutes.
pastane, ngana TSA KOTA???!
Among the many examples in natural philosophy
and history of the gradual and uninterrupted con-
nection of being, from the highest to the lowest, as
far as our perceptions will penetrate, the animal
kingdom offers most striking and stupendous in-
stances.
There is a resemblance in the organization and
bodily form of all animals, which varies by almost
imperceptible gradations, through all the links of
this chain, from man to the worm or vegetable.
The anatomical form and organization of the
ourang-outang bears a near resemblance to the
anatomy of man: this configuration continues in
squirrels, rats, and mice, until the bat, or flying
Beauty.
127
mouse, unites the race of quadrupeds with birds; in
the same manner, the kangaroo and jerboa, with very
short fore legs, and walking on the hind legs only,
unite quadrupeds with another class of birds, which
do not fly, the penguin, the cassowary, and the
ostrich.
The crocodile and alligator unite the race of four-
footed beasts with the superior class of reptiles,
such as the lizard and the eft, until the frog, being
a tadpole in its infant state, belongs to the class of
fishes.
The smaller and more imperfect birds approach
to the resemblance of the larger butterflies and
moths.
The order of flies at length terminates so exactly
in the resemblance of a leaf, that it might be taken
for one, did not experiment prove, by the heart,
lungs, and anatomical properties, the fly to be per-
fectly animal; whilst a totally different organization
proves the other to be positively vegetable.
Professor Camper, in the most ingenious and
valuable notes to his lectures, shews that the figure
and organization of man contain the principles on
which the structure of all inferior animals is formed,
and from which they are removed by gradual imper-
fections.
Four-footed animals, although their general forms
and anatomy bear strong likeness to the human
figure, differ from it in these respects: the brain-pan
is less, the nose and jaws have greater projection,
128
Beauty.
their view is downwards, the body is supported in a
horizontal line by four legs terminated by paws or
hoofs: the interior organization differs in corre-
spondence with the external figure.
The variation of the bird from the beast is, that
the nose and jaws of one become a beak in the other,
the front legs having lost the paws, are folded up by
the sides, and are wings.
In fishes, the head is set immediately on the body;
they have no legs, their places are supplied by fins,
which guide them through the waters.
All these various orders are wonderfully formed
in fitness for the elements they inhabit, and the
purposes of their lives. As their history extends
through a large and very interesting portion of
creation, so the principles of their conformation and
powers comprehend a considerable share of natural
science.
The forms of the bones and anatomy contain the
geometrical forms, as the motions of the body, limbs,
and interior, demonstrate the mechanical powers.
The preparation, secretion, and fermentation of
the juices are chemical; hydraulics are in the con-
veyance and motion of the juices; pneumatics in the
various modes of breathing; electricity in the effects.
of heat on the body; and optics in the organs of
sight.
Such general observations relate to the bodies of
man and other animals; but we must remember
that man, even in the structure of his body, is the
Beauty.
129
CMA TOMAS.
most perfect of all creatures; and the above remarks
are only offered to call the attention to the wonderful
extent of creation, and the harmony, order, and
beauty of its whole connection and disposition.
waną dwa DPGMN Bey
But in treating of man in particular, our subject
is the most perfect production of Almighty Power in
the visible world, the faculties of whose soul place
him far above other creatures, and declare the nearer
relation he stands in to his divine Creator.
. ܗܐ ܐ ܐܢܘ
By the wisdom he is endowed with, all creatures
are subjected to his dominion; by his affections he
is enabled to perform all the charities of life-to
prefer the interests of others to his own-to distin-
guish personal beauty as the indication of good dispo-
sition and health-to trace his Creator in his works,
and offer the homage of his worship: in all which he
is superior to the brute animals, whose exertions are
the consequence of instinct for the preservation of
themselves and progeny, and whose reasoning has
never been discovered to go beyond these purposes,
or some particular attachment.
As the affections of man stimulate and engage him
in every act, so his understanding directs the means,
and looks to the end in every employment through
life. These modify the exterior of the face and
figure, according to constant habit or momentary
impulse.
+ Expression -+
The passionate are known by quick fiery glances,
swollen brows, dilated nostrils, the mouth a little
open, the movements of the whole figure sudden, the
K
REVET BEGEN

130
Beauty.
muscles of the body being disposed to rigidity and
contraction.
The melancholy have a general dejection of look,
the exterior corners of the eyes and eyebrows tend-
ing downwards, a universal slowness of motion and
disregard of outward objects.
Every passion, sentiment, virtue, or vice, have
their corresponding signs in the face, body, and
limbs, which are understood by the skilful physician
and physiognomist, when not confused by the work-
ing of contrary affections or hidden by dissimulation.
In the formation and appearance of the body, we
shall always find that its beauty depends on its
health, strength, and agility, most convenient motion
and harmony of parts in the male and female human
figure, according to the purposes for which they
were intended; the man for greater power and
A
exertion, the woman for tenderness and grace. It
these characteristics of form are animated by a soul
in which benevolence, temperance, fortitude, and the
other moral virtues preside, unclouded by vice, we
shall recognize in such a one perfect beauty, and
remember that "God created man in His own
image."
We know that sickness destroys the complexion
and consumes the form, until that which was once
admired for grace and attractive loveliness becomes
a ghastly spectre; and is it not equally evident that
brutal ferocity, revenge, hypocrisy, or any other of
the malignant passions, still more effectually destroy

**
PROJET 23 TIERR
Beauty.
131
the very traces of beauty by reducing man to a
savage beast in his most degraded state?
The most perfect human beauty is that most free
from deformity either of body or mind, and may be
therefore defined-
The most perfect soul, in the most perfect body.
Doubts can scarcely be entertained that there are
principles of beauty, because various opinions pre-
vail in different countries on the subject.
Men are in different states of mental and bodily
improvement, from the most savage to the most
civilized countries, and we know that many succes-
sive ages must pass in the confirmation of moral
habits, the right direction of reason and elevation of
intellect, before man can judge, with any tolerable
ability, of mental or natural beauty, their causes,
relations, and effects: and that in all states of society
there must be allowance for prejudice and climate.
But we shall certainly find that the wisest and the
best men in all ages and countries have held nearly
the same doctrine on this subject.
The excellence of intellect and moral beauty was
asserted by Menu, the Indian legislator, Confucius,
the Chinese philosopher, Zoroaster, the Persian sage,
and by the Egyptian priests.
I´ythagoras, who had studied their wisdom, under-
stood the dispositions of the mind by its influence
expressed in the exteriors of the body; and accord-
ingly, Iamblichus, his biographer, tells us he would
132
Beauty.
•
togetmon
while could
Ly
observe the countenance, figure, looks, movements,
manner of speaking, and tone of voice, until he was
accurately acquainted with any one's character.
Our present purpose particularly requires we
should consider the sentiments of the most celebrated
Greeks on beauty, the connection of mental and
bodily beauty, and their expression in the human
form.
Memang khaled a min

hou
to
aut
as
Homer constantly endows his gods with personal
beauty, accommodated to their mental perfection and
immortal power, and his heroes with the attributes
of gods: thus, as he gives to Jupiter the epithets of
Counsellor" and "Provident," he describes his hair
divine," "ambrosial," and his nod as making
the world tremble: Juno, he calls the "ox-eyed,”
and the "white-armed;" Minerva, "the blue-eyed
virgin." Achilles, the hero of the "Iliad," is the
handsomest man that went to Troy; his epithets are,
"divine," "god-like," "swift-footed;" Agamemnon
is called the king of men;" Nestor and Ulysses
are said to be "in council like the gods ;”—all
expressing the union of mental and bodily excellence.
..
That the same sentiments continued in aftertimes,
we have the coeval testimonies of the most illustrious
philosophers, tragedians, orators, and artists.
In Plato's Dialogue of Phædrus, concerning the
beautiful, he shews the power and influence of
mental beauty on corporeal, and in his dialogue,
entitled "the Greater Hippias," Socrates observes in
argument, "that as a beautiful vase is inferior to a
↓
:(
Beauty
133
beautiful horse, and as a beautiful horse is not to be
compared to a beautiful virgin, in the same manner,
a beautiful virgin is inferior in beauty to the im-
mortal gods;" "for," says he, "there is a beauty*
incorruptible, ever the same." It is remarkable
that immediately after, he says, "Phidias is skilful
in beauty."
Aristotle, the scholar of Plato, begins his ‘Treatise
on Morals' thus-"Every art, every method and
institution, every action and council, seems to seek
some good; therefore, the ancients pronounced the
beautiful to be the good."
Much, indeed, might be collected from this phi-
losopher's treatises on morals, poetics, and physiog-
nomy, of the greatest importance to our subject; but
for the present we shall produce only two quotations
from Xenophon's Memorabilia,' which contain the
immediate application of these principles to the arts
of design.
In the dialogue between Socrates and the sculptor
Clito, Socrates concludes that "Statuary must repre-
sent the emotions of the soul by form;" and in the
former part of the same dialogue, Parrhasius and
Socrates agree that "the good and evil qualities of
the soul may be represented in the figure of man by
painting."
In the applications from this dialogue to our sub-
ject, we must remember philosophy demonstrates
* The word in Greek is κaλds-used in the same sense by
Plato and Aristotle.
134
Beauty.
that rationality or intelligence, although connected
with animal nature, rises above it, and properly
exists in a more exalted state.
From such contemplations and maxims, the ancient
artists sublimated the sentiments of their works
expressed in the choicest forms of nature; thus they
produced their divinities, heroes, patriots, and philo-
sophers, adhering to the principle of Plato, that
"nothing is beautiful which is not good;" it was
this which, in ages of polytheism and idolatry, still
continued to enforce a popular impression of divine
attributes and perfection.
In the highest order of divinities, they represented,
as far as possible, the energy of intellect above the
material accidents of passion or decay.
*
Jupiter was most placid as most mighty, either
extending victory as the reward of fortitude and
patriotic emulation, or holding the thunder and
sceptre, emblems of his sovereignty in the govern-
ment of the universe; excepting when destroying
the Titans, he is then in heroic action.†
G
Observations on the Bust of Jupiter.
A fine remark is made by Winckelman (perhaps
suggested by Mengs), that the brow and hair of
this head have some resemblance to those of the
lion; the beard and hair are full, the expression
is benevolence and wisdom, the age, maturity of
power.
* See Plate XX.
† See the Gem of this subject.
Beauty.
135
Neptune resembles Jupiter in countenance and
person; his hair is more disturbed by the winds, or
wetted by the element he governs; he is nearly or
entirely unclothed.
Pluto continues the likeness of the Saturnian
family, observable in Jupiter and Neptune he sits
in solemn state, the ruler of the lower world-he is
covered with drapery-his eyes have a sceptre-like
stare-and the hair, falling over his forehead, adds
gloom to his countenance.
Apollo, Bacchus, and Mercury, distinguished by
their youth and beauty, preserve the resemblance of
their father Jupiter.
The energetic Apollo Alexicacos, or the driver-
away of evil, commonly called Belvidere, is "severe
in youthful beauty;" he supplies Homer's descrip-
tion to the sight-his golden locks are agitated-
his countenance is indignant-the quiver is hanging
on his shoulder-and he steps forward in the discharge
of his arrow.
Apollo in love, or companion of the Muses, is
majestic yet graceful, strongly resembling Bacchus,
who, in the height of youthful beauty, is frequently
leaning on a faun, or a muse, or reclining on Ariadne ;
his grace and softness approaches to, and sometimes
really becomes, female delicacy.
Mercury is a mediate character between Apollo
and the youthful Hercules; he unites the sublime
beauty of divinity with corporeal, heroic strength,
as patron of gymnastic exercises, and as messenger
136
Beauty.
of the gods from heaven to earth, from earth to
heaven.
The characteristics of elevated beauty are con-
tinued in the youthful Cupid, Hercules, when a child,
strangling the serpents, and the young Ganymede.
Heroes, whether considered by the ancients as the
immediate progeny of a divinity and a mortal, or as
having traced their descent from divinity more re-
motely, are of muscular forms, in which strength,
activity, and beauty blend, but in such a manner
that by bodily exertion and agility they have been
successful combatants and conquerors. Mental power
characterizes the divinity, bodily exertion the hero.
Such is Oileus Ajax, the Hæmon, Zethus, and
Amphion.
Achilles is the example of masculine beauty among
the heroes, as Hercules is of unconquerable force.
In the faces of the dying Achilles and Laocoon,
pain and death produce nothing like distortion,
the elevation of noble minds is seen in their suffer-
ings.
The train and ministry of Bacchus afford more
variety than that of any other divinity-the sacred
instructors-the bearers and dispensers of wine and
grapes-fauns and satyrs of different ages-dancing
and mad Bacchanals.
The sacred instructors are bearded: men of noble
characters entirely clothed. Silenus, bearded, with
a pleasant countenance, between good fellowship and
philosophy a rather spare and elegant figure with a
Beauty.
137
faun's tail, entirely naked. Such a one nurses the
infant Bacchus in Perrier's statues.
Two genii, the frequent attendants of Bacchus, on
either of which he often leans, are Ampelus and
Acrates. Ampelus is a faun, nervous and sprightly;
Acrates dwarfish, round-bellied, and sometimes hairy.
The fauns are youthful, sprightly, and tendinous ;
their faces round, expressive of merriment, not with-
out an occasional mixture of mischief.
Satyrs, the lowest order in the train of Bacchus,
are strong resemblances to different quadrupeds, their
faces and figures partake of the ape, the ram, or the
goat, they have sometimes goats' legs, and always
either goats' or horses' tails.
The giants are towers of human strength to the
waist; but instead of legs, their figures terminate
in the huge folds of serpents' tails; their heads
resemble the Saturnian family, but lowering with
brutal ferocity; two small serpents are on their heads,
perhaps to indicate the torments in the lower regions,
according to Hesiod.
Ocean, and great rivers, as the Nile, Euphrates,
Tigris, and Tiber, resemble the Saturnian family in
countenance, hair, and beard; their figures Herculean
and full of flesh.
The Tritons, and inferior sea-divinities, are robust
men to the middle, ending with fishes' tails; their
faces are like either the giants' or fauns'; finny hair
covers their heads, and gills are on their jaws.
Juno is the first of the goddesses, as sister and wife
138
Beauty.
of Jupiter: she possesses the highest degree of beauty:
her character is lofty and imperial.
Minerva is sometimes seen as the patroness of
peaceful arts, in attitude highly dignified, yet simple,
clothed in full drapery, and holding an olive branch ;
but she is most frequently seen armed, in her four-
crested helmet and ægis bearing the terrors of Medusa's
head, holding her spear and shield, as the virgin-
goddess of war. In both characters she is the repre-
sentative of wisdom.
Venus,* the example and patroness of beauty,
appears more frequently in poetic numbers, and rap-
turous description, than any other heathen divinity.
She was the delighting and frequent theme of Homer,
Hesiod, Apollonius Rhodius, Virgil, and indeed
most of the ancient poets. Plato distinguishes the
celestial from the earthly Venus, and Pliny mentions
a statue by Phidias of Venus Urania, or the heavenly.
The Venus of Alcamenes and the Venus de Medicis
are certainly of Plato's latter class; they perfectly
agree with Hesiod's description-
The lovely modest Goddess rising from the sea, accompanied
by Love, and followed by Desire.
The Graces are seen in ancient sculpture as three
lovely, youthful sisters, embracing each other. They
were always clothed till after the time of Socrates.
In the earlier ages they formed a chorus hand ir.
hand, as described by Pindar.
* See Plates XXI. XXII. and XXIII
Beauty.
139
The Greek and Latin names of these goddesses,
Charites and Gratia, which signify the exercise of
kind affections, or the charities of life, are well per-
sonified by the tender union of sisters.
The character and action of these goddesses have
given the epithet graceful to easy, undulating motion.
The sea-nymphs are graceful in the extreme: their
beautiful movements are as various as the waves on
which they are borne; each appears a foam-produced
Venus.
The whole universe was peopled by congenial
beings, substantiated by philosophers, described by
poets, represented with the glow of life by painters
and sculptors.
In heaven were good demons, or angelic spirits,
winged victories, winds, and hours.
On earth, the genii of mountains, trees, rivers and
fountains, fauns and satyrs.
In the infernal regions, furies and chimæras.
In an assemblage comprehending such an extent
of gradation, with its different races of variety,
whatever could be chosen from nature, or deduced
from reasoning, evident or abstracted, was employed,
from the most beautiful, through various removals
and descents, to the most gross and terrific.*
It would be endless to enumerate the foreign
divinities of Syria, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Africa,
Spain, Gaul, Germany, and Britain, which during
the Roman power received Greek and Roman forms
Terrific-Pan, Medusa.
140
Beauty.
and personifications; and, if this were done, we
could learn nothing novel from it, in relation to
our present subject. We should, however, be more
certainly led to this conclusion-that whatever traces
of grandeur or beauty were found, they would be
discovered as pillage and transfer, from ancient
Greece.
This much being said more particularly in respect
to the countenances and heads of statues, which have
been the chief subjects of former Lectures, we will
offer a few general remarks on hands and feet.
The proportion of the hand, (it is well known,)
from its junction with the wrist to the end of the
middle finger, is the length of a face; the breadth.
across the four lower knuckles does not exceed half
the length, or a nose and a half. With these pro-
portions, the beauty of the female hand consists in
a fulness and roundness of form gently dimpled
over the first knuckles; the fingers long, roun
tapering towards the end, with scarcely any indica-
tion of joints.
The male hand, with nearly the same propor-
tions, has more squareness of form and joints, and
has little indication of bone or tendon in the youth--
ful figure.

PUZ
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The foot is about a head and a half-nose in length;
the breadth, in a straight line across the upper
joint of the little toe, being one-third, or a nose and
a half.
The beauty of the female foot consists in a rounded
BELO
FIRIM.
A s
lookens to
the great NAMES
OVA
Beauty.

sotho dube
141
prouted sots
form, dimpled over the first joints of the toes, which
are very delicate, with exceedingly gentle indications
of the joints, and turned by an almost imperceptible
diagonal from the great toe
LLUAR
The foot of the male figure of youth shews no
more of its anatomical structure than the female,
but has a greater squareness of form.
In more
advanced age, or more muscular character, the male
foot shows more of tendon and bone; but in form
square and broad, the part of the tibia forming the
inner ankle is neatly defined, as is also the lower part
of the fibula, forming the outer ankle with the tendon
of the peroneus muscle; the knuckles of the toes
are more strongly marked.
In both male and female the great toe is large in
comparison with the others, and separated from them
by a distinct space.
The boundaries of personal beauty are the Apollo
and Hercules; a more slender form than the Apollo
is maigre, and one more covered with flesh than the
Hercules must be clumsy; as one in which the parts
are more forcibly marked than in the Laocoon would
be a dissected figure.
Such are the regulations and forms of beauty in
the human face and figure, which allow of infinite
modification and variety, but not transgression.
By these general remarks on the principles of
beauty, the student will be excited to a spirit of
research, which every one must exert for himself
in the various galleries and museums already pub-
·→→→

142
Beauty.
lished, to be found in the library of the Royal
Academy, and other public and private repositories,
and ancient monuments; but this must be in addition
to the most diligent and continual study of choice
nature.
143
LECTURE VI.
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COMPOSITION.
HAVING introduced the Lectures on Sculpture by an
inquiry concerning its relations and connection with
the circle of general knowledge-stated some im-
portant facts in its ancient history-considered the
application of science, the observation of nature, and
the speculation of mental qualities more particularly
evident in the nobler works of Grecian sculpture.
we may now proceed to that great effort in which the
artist sums up all his knowledge, embodies all his
science, and exerts his utmost powers, under the
standard of passion, or sentiment, in composition.
To avoid repeating that which it is scarcely pos-
sible to think or say better on the present subject,
I shall refer the student to the excellent principles
and doctrines in the Lecture on Composition by the
professor of painting *-to consider with attention
what he has delivered on invention and design, on
dignity of conception, and pathos of sentiment-to
imprint on his memory, with peculiar care, the
* Mr. Fuseli.
wan
AmaTim
Rommisy

144
Composition.
gradual elevation to a climax in the example of
Rembrandt's "Ecce Homo "-and the degradation of
subject to the disgusting in "the Blinding of Samson,"
by the same painter.
The maxims to be collected from these paragraphs
of that admirable discourse have equal force in both
arts; and as they have been laid down for the regu-
lation of painting, it is equally important they should
be implicitly followed in sculpture; for as the theories
of painting and sculpture, so far as the study of
colours makes no distinction, are nearly the same,
the lectures on painting impart a share of instruction
to the sculptor, little less than that which is received
by the painter.
Composition, in the arts of design, is the grouping
of figures in succession or action, and immediately.
follows the intelligible imitation of the human figure.
VENTEEN MANTEA
DET SINKENNIS
ABOUT MIRUSI
The early compositions of Greece in poetry, paint-
ing, and sculpture, celebrate heroic deeds and sacred
mysteries; as the combat of Theseus and the Mino-
taur, of Eteocles and Polynices, of Hercules and the
Centaurs, Dejanira carried off by Nessus, processions
of divinities, and the initiations of Bacchus and Ceres
on painted vases, coins, votive basso-relievos, and
ancient wells. Their barbarous violence of angular
action, or simple formality of movement, is expressed
in a gross execution.
These were among the first bold attempts of
painting and sculpture:-to emerge from the servility
of hieroglyphical writing and symbolical figure;
Composition.
145
speaking to the feelings, instead of to the memory;
proclaiming to the spectator's transient view the
delivery of a people, the fall of a city, or the Divine
superintendence.
When the power of Asia was transferred to Greece,
the sciences, the graces, and the muses, bestowed on
the arts truth, beauty, and inspiration. Painting and
sculpture became more dignified. Colossal statues
of prodigious size arose in the cities, like guardian
genii overlooking their states. Their attributes and
pedestals were adorned with compositions from
poetry and theology. The porticos were animated
with the heroes of other times. In the friezes of the
temples, the Athenians and Amazons, the Lapitha
and Centaurs, the Greeks and Persians fought again,
whilst assemblies of gods and demigods rose to the
sky in their pediments. Such was the state and
magnificence of sculpture in Greece, which is so far
important to us, as it makes us acquainted with the
celebrated compositions of Grecian artists.
Phidias did not only ennoble Athens and Elis with
colossal statues of Minerva and Jupiter of ivory and
gold, but he adorned their insignia and pedestals
with compositions from the grandest subjects in the
poems of Homer and Hesiod. On the outside of
Minerva's shield was the battle of the Athenians and
the Amazons; on the inside the contest of the gods
and giants; on the pedestal was the birth of Pandora.
On the throne of Jupiter were the destruction of
Niobe's children, the labours of Hercules, the de-
L
146
Composition.
livery of Prometheus, the garden of the Hesperides,
with other incidents of the heroic ages.
On the base, the battle of Theseus and the
Amazons; on the pedestal an assembly of the gods,
the Sun and Moon in their cars, and the birth of
Venus.
These compositions excelled whatever had appeared
before in beauty, grace, and compass, in the same
proportions as Phidias excelled his predecessors; and
their numerous repetitions testify the esteem of the
ancients, and give us possession of the spirit and
character of the works themselves, in friezes, basso-
relievos, and painted vases.
Minerva received in the assembly of the gods, on
the pediment of her temple at Athens, we know
from the drawing of it preserved by the Marquis
Nanteul.
Of the marriage of Pelops and Hippodamia, on
the temple of Jupiter at Elis, we may perhaps form
some conception from a magnificent painted vase in
the British Museum, on which are two quadrigas,
and various human figures.
The battles of the Athenians with the Amazons and
the Persians, beheld by assemblies of the gods, in the
temples of Minerva and Theseus, and the Propylæum
of Athens, together with the frieze lately discovered
at Phigalia, are admirable examples of simplicity and
energy.
When the states of Greece ceased to be free, they
could no longer raise noble temples from the spoils
Composition.
147
of their enemies, and blazon their own struggles for
freedom, or proclaim their divinities on friezes and
pediments;-but, with the same love of their country,
they employed their genius on inferior memorials of
their heroic or deified ancestors, for porticos, libraries,
halls, or tombs. The wars of Troy * and Thebes, the
stories of their ancient families and kings, expanded
by the tragic poets from the episodes of Homer, have
bestowed on us those invaluable compositions-the
discovery of Achilles, his contest with Agamemnon,
the death of Ægisthus and Clytemnestra, Orestes
and the Furies, Orpheus and Eurydice, Medea and
Jason, Edipus Coloneus, and the death of Meleager.
The principal compositions of Roman sculpture,
the best of which, there is reason to believe, were
executed by Greek artists, are those of the arches
raised to Titus, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Severus,
and Constantine-the Trajan, Antonine, and Theo-
dosian columns. They breathe the spirit of the people
they commemorate-war, conquest, and universal
dominion!
In the Greek compositions, the countenances and
figures are of exalted beauty; the actions display the
limbs and body with the greatest variety, energy,
and grace; the subjects are heroic or divine. They
have a kindred sublimity with Homer, of patriotism
* The destruction of Priam's family- Neoptolemus killing
Priam; Ajax seizing Cassandra at the shrine of Minerva; Eneas
bearing Anchises. A Vase in Mr. Thomas Hope's possession,
and A. L. Millin's Antique Vases, vol i. p. 25, 26.
148
Composition.
with Tyrtæus, the noble flights of Pindar, the
terrors of Eschylus, and the tenderness of Sophocles!
The Roman compositions owe no inspiration to the
Muses, urge no claim to the epic or dramatic. They
are the mere paragraphs of military gazettes-vulgar
in conception, ferocious in sentiment. On the columns
and arches above mentioned, the principal objects
are mobs of Romans, cased in armour, bearing down
unarmed, scattered Germans, Dacians, or Sarmatians
-soldiers felling timber, driving piles, building
walls or bridges, carrying rubbish, shouldering bat-
tering-rams, killing without mercy, or dragging and
binding captives. The forms of their bodies and
limbs are interrupted by mail or plate armour, and
most of the heads so brutal and savage as to excite
compassion for the barbarians who have fallen into
their hands.
From this abasement of sculpture in Italy we shall
willingly turn again to the compositions of the
Greeks, and observe that this people, who had
embodied the false divinities of Olympus, and widely
spread their fame by the perfection of their repre-
sentations, the same people were the first to declare
the sacred oracles of truth, under the Christian dis-
pensation, by the mute eloquence of painting and
sculpture.
Different subjects of Holy Writ are mentioned by
the writers of those times, which no longer exist.
Some mosaics, ivory carvings, and illuminations,
which have escaped the destruction of Moslem fana
Composition.
149
ticism, abundantly indicate the beauty of those more.
considerable works we have lost.
Seven or eight Greek Christian compositions were
mentioned in a former lecture, as having been
standards to the Italian painters, from which they
scarcely ventured to deviate for ages, viz., The
creation of Adam and of Eve, the Nativity,* the
Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the
Glorification, the Last Judgment,† with some others;
those amply prove that the sacred flame remained in
Greece which kindled light and life in the modern
arts of Western Europe.
Grecian composition may be traced in the biblical
basso-relievos of Orvieto by Nicolas and John Pisani;
in the noble bronzes of the life of Christ on the
pulpits of St. Lorenzo in Florence, by Donatello; on
the bronze gates of St. John's Baptistery, in the same
city, by Lorenzo Ghiberti, and in the paintings of
Raffaelle and Michael Angelo.
The Greek poets conducted their works on a plan
of composition which equally governs painting and
sculpture.
Homer's Iliad is a whole, united in its parts by
connection, and varied by gradation.
The sentiment throughout is wrath, beginning
with the dissension of the kings, continued by the
vengeance of the Trojans, and ended by the de-
struction of Troy's hope and bulwark in the death
+ Plate XXXIX.
* See Plates II. XXXV. XXXVI.
150
Composition.
of Hector. The characters have a varied indivi-
duality.
Achilles is the hero who, like the sun, enlightens
and heats all by the blaze of his presence; his
absence is darkness and dismay.
There is the same unity in connection and gra-
dation of characters and circumstances to be found in
the Prometheus of Eschylus.
Vulcan, Force and Strength, Mercury, Ocean, and
the Nymphs are but contingents to the adaman-
tine spirit of Prometheus, whom the threats of Ju-
piter could not move, nor convulsions of the universe
terrify the interest is in him, to which the minister-
ing violence, admonition, consolation or tenderness
of the inferior characters, give subordinate relation.
The principles of composition require that the
story should be a perfect whole, and that one cha-
racter should be supreme, to which all the inferior
ones should have some relation by connection or
separation. The individual variety of character is
equally in the order of nature.
Aristotle and Horace, in their "Art of Poetry,"
(besides the above mentioned,) propose various
rules, which equally govern the poet, painter, and
sculptor; and that no doubt may be entertained
concerning the practice of the ancient artists, Horace
tells us that "the poet and painter are regulated by
the same principles."
For the sake of clearness, the rules of composition
shall be given under distinct heads :-
Composition.
151
First, a poet speaks by words.
The painter and sculptor by action.
Action singly, or in series:—the subject of com-
position being comprised in the arts of design, thus
the story of Laocoon is told by the agony of the father
and sons, inextricably wound about in the folds of
serpents.
The anger of Achilles is shewn by drawing his
sword on Agamemnon in the council of the kings.
And every action is more perfect as it comprehends
an indication of the past, with a certainty of the end,
in the moment chosen.
Ananias, falling in the contractions of death at
the feet of St. Peter, proves a divine authority in the
apostle's rebuke, whilst Sapphira, counting the silver,
leads to the nature of his offence. See Raffaelle's
Cartoon.
In the group of Hæmon and Antigone, he supports
the expiring woman, whilst he kills himself with
the same sword which slew her, shewing his death
to be a consequence of hers.
Expression distinguishes the species of action in
the whole and in all the parts; in the faces, figures,
limbs, and extremities. Whether the story be heroic
grave, or tender, it is the very soul of composition-
it animates its characters and gradations, as the
human soul doth the body and limbs-it engages the
attention, and excites an interest which compensates
for a multitude of defects-whilst the most admirable
execution, without a just and lively expression, will


152
Composition.
Flat nebifs
be disregarded as laborious inanity, or contemned as
an illusory endeavour to impose on the feelings and
the understanding.
The general forms of masses in composition have
been enumerated and ably described by the professor
of painting; but as these particularly concern the
sculptor whose whole study is form, a repetition
will not be useless.

The forms are the pyramid erect, inverted, or
lateral, the circle and the oval; they may be radiated,
and the whole will have a flame-like undulation in
effect, from the ever-varying succession of curves in
the outline and action of the human figure.
The parts will be more simple and rectilinear in
repose, more angular in violent action,* and par-
taking of gentle curves when the subject is tender
and the person elegant: when the limbs are entwined
ANLAGE
as struggling, or in any sympathetic act either →
of force or tenderness, the joints, the general curves
and views of the limbs, should never be exactly"
and mechanically the same, but partake of the
wonderful variety of nature, in which all faces, all
bodies, and all efforts are different. This gives life
and motion.

ܟ ܐ ܝ
What has been said above is equally applicable
to the group or basso-relievo, but the application
must be accommodated to the subject.
The entire group is independent of back-ground,
and that additional contrast or effect produced by
* Athenian and Amazon.
Composition.
153
The
the adjunction of secondary figures and objects it is
one whole, whose idea is perfect, and action satis-
child has
factory in itself; it is to be seen in every view, and
each view must exhibit a different group, preserving handwriting.
a succession of beautiful forms and distinct lines,
unce
without impairing the energy of sentiment Now
that's
-color
The basso-relievo may be considered in effect as
a picture without colouring, whose back-ground is
light, a little subdued, the figures thereon being
chiefly of the middle tint, with touches of strong
dark in the depths, and bright lights on the higher

projections This species of sculpture is not in
tended to be seen in many views like the entire
group; but it has this advantage, that more groups
than one may be on the same back-ground, and
sometimes a succession of events in the same story;
a greater force is given to harmony, or contrast of
lines, by the number of groups and figures, as well as
the projection of their shadows.
The ancients, who considered simplicity as a
characteristic of perfection, represented stories by
a single row of figures in the bas-relief, by which
the whole outline of the figure or group, the energy
of action, the concatenation of limbs, the flight or
flow of drapery were seen with little interruption;
but there are instances of the best times in low
relievo, where many horsemen are advancing before
each other, the nearer horse hiding the hinder parts
of the preceding, and sometimes part of the rider,
without causing the least confusion of effect, as in
A
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154
Composition.
the frieze from the Temple of Minerva in Lord
Elgin's collection.
There are noble examples, also, of groups and
figures rushing in the same reiterated line throngh
the composition; but even in basso-relievo, it must
be remembered, the work is sculpture, which allows
no picturesque addition or effect of back-ground;
the story must be told, and the field occupied by the
figure and acts of man.
4
All art, as the imitation of nature, must be allied
by the same relations, and submit to the same laws
which govern nature itself: thus, a certain view of
the human figure is most fit to express its spring
and motion in running or striking, and consequently
the quantity of the figure seen in that view; another
quantity will more properly belong to a different
exertion or repose.
The story may require that the upper part of
one figure should be principal, whilst, perhaps, the
lower parts are concealed by an intervening object;
some figures may be running in different directions,
more crowded, or separate. To regulate these spaces
and quantities harmoniously, concerns the sculptor
in his composition, equally with the poet or musician
in theirs. This is to be done by the same means,
according to different modes of manifestation; and
the 3rds, 5ths, and 8ths, with their subdivisions,
taken by gross calculation in the arts of design,
not exact measurement, will produce the same
agreeable effect in lines, light and shadow, space

Composition.
155
and the arrangements of colours, as is produced by
similar quantities in music.
One simple instance only shall be given of
opposition, and another of harmony in lines and
quantities:* two equal curves, set with either their
convex or concave faces to each other, produce
opposition; but unite two curves of different size and
segment, they will produce that harmonious line,
termed graceful, in the human figure.
CELEME :
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PREENDE VINERA Images at homegn story or you can get qui se tr
Concerning the quantity of light and shadow in
a group, if the light be one-third, and shadow two-
thirds, the effect will be bold. If the light be one
part, and the shade four, it will be still bolder, and
accord with a tragic or terrific action; but the
more general effect of sculpture is two-thirds of
light on the middle of the group, with a small pro-
portion of very dark shadow in the deeper hollows.
An attention to the materials of sculpture will
naturally lead us to the description of its legitimate
subjects. The grey solemn tints of stone, the beau-
tiful semi-transparent purity of marble, the golden
splendour, or corroding darkened green of bronze,
reject as incongruous all subjects and characters
which have not some dignity or elevation. S
The awful simplicity of those forms whose eyes
have neither colour nor brilliancy, and whose limbs/subject
have not the glow of circulation, strikes the first
Me

* Opposition and harmony of lines.
Opposition ) ( ( )
Harmony ..
THEN, DE

Storaks for
Emchy
156
Composition.
A
view of the beholder as beings of a different order
from himself.
Angels, spiritual ministers, embodied virtues,
departed worthies, the patriot or general benefactor,
shining in the splendour of his deeds, or gloomy and
consuming memorials of the great in former ages
such subjects distinguish temples, churches, palaces,
courts of justice, and the open squares of cities. At
the same time that they symbolize their several
purposes, they may be comprehended in the three
classes of sublime, heroic, and tender
2r floods
Joerbulan
M

The sublime represents all supernatural acts and
appearances, such as assemblies of the gods, or falls
of the giants, &c. In the higher class of Christian
subjects are the different acts of Creation, the
Angels appearing to the Shepherds, the Transfigu-
ration, the Ascension, and the Judgment.
In this class can be nothing common in idea,
person, or action; the idea, whether simple or com-
plex, must be such as cannot be seen in nature, the
beauty and dignity of the persons should be more
than human, and the action, whether forcible or
pathetic, should be action in its essence.
Of the heroic class of compositions, we may account
the battles of the Athenians and Amazons, and of
the Athenians and Persians, in the Temples of Mi-
nerva and Theseus in Athens, and the Temple of
Apollo at Phigalia, with such subjects as the story
of Orestes, and the death of Ægisthus, in the ancient
basso-relievos.
Composition.
157
Of the tender, or pathetic, are the Death of
Meleager, Antiope comforted by Zethus and Am-
phion; to which may be added, such Christian
subjects as Michael Angelo's Holy Family and
Charity for although these last two are paintings,
their compositions are so perfectly sculptural, that
they may, without impropriety, be admitted into the
present arrangement.
:
Another class of subjects may be observed among
the ancient basso-relievos, which may be termed the
graceful, from the prevalence of elegant female.
figures in the pageants of marine divinities, or in the
festive choruses.
The characteristics of Grecian composition, in the
best ages, are simplicity and distinctness, in all the
examples of painting and sculpture which have come
down to us. * Where the story does not require
much action, it is told by gentle movements, and the
figures, whether grouped or single, have a sufficient
portion of plain back-ground left about them to
shew the general lines with the forms of the limbs
and draperies perfectly intelligible.
Where complication and force of action may be
required, it is done with a grace of concatenation
which adds continuity to the act, without causing
it to be less distinct. And in such as are all agitation
and violence, the force of striking, the rush of flight,
the agony of dying, and the prostration of the dead,
in which union of action is enforced by repetition,
* Hesperides.
158
Composition.
and difference of situation by contrast,—still the
same distinctness is preserved.*
*
In the great compositions of modern times, the
Last Judgment of Michael Angelo, and the Fall of
the Angels, by Rubens, there are multitudes and
legions in comparison with the separate figures and
single groups in the most considerable of the ancient
works. The beholder is thunderstruck by angels
falling in groups and forked masses, amalgamating
in the vivid flashes, and darkening in the sulphurous
smoke, in the various dismay, horror, terror, and
torpor of deadened intellect in their lost condition.
In this picture the undulation of groups, the play of
lines, the entwining of limbs, and the breadth and
quantities of light and shade, may be studied by the
painter and sculptor with equal advantage.
The Last Judgment, by Michael Angelo, is, how-
ever, a more consummate work, and the parent from
which Rubens's Fall of the Angels has derived its
being.
If the Judgment is inferior to the Falling Angels
in general effect-in the breadth of light and shade
-the strength of approaching parts-the gradual
distance of those which retreat, by diffusion of
middle tint and the vivid variegations of reflex, it is
superior in the sublimity and extent of character
and action—in the gradations of sentiment and
passion, from exalted beatitude to the abyss of hope-
less destruction-in the kinds and species of these
* Phigalia, in the Royal Academy.
Composition.
159
degrees in relations to the theological and cardinal.
virtues, opposed to the seven deadly sins-in force
of conception-in uncommon, original, distinct, and
fit appropriation in the groups or separate figures.
The sentiment of particular figures and groups is in
the whole, and all the parts penetrating, sympa-
thetic, and true.
Despair plunges headlong downwards; the fall of
the contentious is aided by strife and blows; the
malignant, drawn downwards by the fiends, is tor-
mented in his way by the biting serpent; for some
there is a terrific contest between angels and in-
fernals.*
Among the happy, brotherly love is evident in
three figures which shoot upwards together, whose
faces, seen a little beyond each other, appear to be
reflections of the same self; several rise to the
heavenly region by the attractions of purity, piety,
and charity.
In this stupendous work, in addition to the genius
of the mighty master, the mechanical powers and
movements of the figure, its anatomical energy and
forms, are shewn by such perspective of the most
difficult positions, as surpass any examples left by
the ancients on a flat surface or low relief, and are
only to be equalled in kind, but not in the propor-
tion of application, in the front and diagonal views
of the Laocoon, and all the views of the Boxers,
which are both entire groups.
* See Plate XXXVII.
160
Composition.
By such observations on these works, so far as
composition and design are common to the sister
arts, the sculptor perceives the scope and power of
his own art.
It is true, that sublime and extensive works are
seldom required in the slow and difficult process of
sculpture; but he who loves the honourable exercise
of his art, and the intellectual delight of worthy
exertion, will endeavour to prepare himself for all
difficulties besides, the combinations and particular
groups will be more or less concerned in the studies
of every day; and as the electric fluid pervades all
matter, so the same spirit and principles which
inform these works, penetrate the whole study of
the human figure.
The lines of Grecian composition enchant the
beholder by their harmony and perfection; and this
portion of study seems to have been highly improved
by Pamphilus, the learned Macedonian painter, who
denied that any one could succeed in the study of
painting without arithmetic and geometry. The
application of these two sciences is very evident in
the arts of design: by arithmetic, the proportions of
the human figure and other animals are reckoned,
and the quantities of bodies, superficies, or light and
shade ascertained; geometry gives lines and dia-
grams for the motion, outline, and drapery of the
figure, regulated by the harmony of agreeable pro-
portions, or the opposition of contrast. The effect is
evident in the groups of Laocoon and the Boxers,
Composition.
161
the bas-relief of the Niobe family, and that of the
rape of Proserpine; but this magic bond of arrange-
ment was utterly lost when the other perfections of
Grecian genius were overwhelmed in barbarism, nor
in any degree recovered until late in the resurrection
of the arts, and then they were reproduced by the
same means which had discovered them.
The study of geometry became more general, and
had been applied with more success to the improve-
ment of science and art, after the learned Greeks,
who fled from Constantinople, settled in Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo were
greedy partakers in this abundant harvest of know-
ledge. Michael Angelo* shewed his sensibility to
the play of lines in his picture of the Holy Family,
in which the Virgin, sitting on the ground, receives
the infant Jesus, whom Joseph, stooping behind,
presents over her right shoulder.
Leonardo da Vinci, who had devoted much time
to mechanical and geometrical studies, composed the
Contest for the Standard, intended to be painted in
the great hall of the old palace of Florence. This
was indeed a prodigy in modern advancement, and
the first great example of complicated grouping since
the arts flourished in ancient Greece.
Michael Angelo's mind seems at this time to have
been employed on the powers, forms, and views of
the human figure singly; and perhaps the admirable
groups in the ceiling, and the Last Judgment, of the
* See Plate XXXVIII.
M
162
Composition.
Sistine Chapel, were the consequence of Leonardo
da Vinci's example. We are sure the several hunts
of the lions, hippopotamus, and crocodile, were
painted by Rubens in emulation, if not imitation, of
Leonardo's Battle of the Standard; and such is their
merit, that in them you see the men strike, the
horses kick, the wild animals roaring, turn and rend
their hunters, with a grandeur of lines equal to the
vivacity of action and passion. In comparing these
with similar subjects in ancient basso-relievos, par-
ticularly with those on the arch of Constantine, in
which Trajan hunts the lion and boar, modern
genius shines with uncommon brilliancy, and Trajan
with his followers, and the animals they attack, are
tame, insipid, and unnatural.
In comparing ancient and modern compositions,
we shall find the excellence of each was derived
from the systems and moral habits of the times and
countries. The Greeks admired, encouraged, and
cultivated personal beauty by gymnastic exercises
and public rewards in the Olympian meeting of the
states; consequently, what they admired they repre-
sented. The most choice selection of countenance
and form, the most elegant display in the folds of
drapery, were seen in their councils of divinities; in
combats and heroic adventures, grace, elasticity of
action, and personal courage were conspicuous.
The modern arts have been more zealously
employed to commemorate the acts and events of
that dispensation which governs their conduct, and
Composition.
163
determines their future condition; and even in their
celebrations and memorials of political occurrences,
or private characters, they are always combinations
of the moral virtues, or the influences of providential
direction. What has been done, and what may be
done from such subjects, is proved by Michael
Angelo's Old Testament,* and Judgment, in the Sis-
tine Chapel-the Calling of S. Paul, and the Martyr-
dom of S. Peter, in the Pauline Chapel-the Plagues
in the last days of the Church, by Signorelli, in the
Cathedral of Orvieto-the cartoons of Raphael-the
scriptural basso-relievos by John and Nicholas
Pisani,† Donatello, and Lorenzo Ghiberti.§ These
subjects are more than sufficient to employ the
greatest human powers, comprehending whatever is
most sublime or beautiful in energy or repose-
most tender, most affectionate, most forcible, or most
terrific.
An additional distinction between the subjects of
ancient and modern composition is occasioned by
parental affection, and domestic charities, being
cherished in the Christian dispensation much more
powerfully than in the Grecian codes : to these
graces of benevolence we owe those lovely groups-
the Holy Families of Raffaelle and Correggio, and the
Charity of Michael Angelo, unequalled by any
ancient composition of a mother and children, and
one of the finest groups in existence.
* See Plate XXIII. † Adam and Eve.
§ Bronze gates, Giving the Law.
+ Entombing.
See Plate XXXIV.
164
Composition.
In a discourse on the composition of sculpture,
some observations may be expected on sepulchral
monuments and equestrian statues; but little need
be said concerning them at present, because the
sculptor capable of producing a fine group, or alto
relievo of three or more figures, need only limit the
compass of his powers, or submit them to archi-
tectural arrangements, and he will execute either
one or the other without difficulty. Two or three
examples will be sufficient. A monument to Sir
Francis Vere, Westminster Abbey*-the Tomb of
Madame Langhahn*-and Michael Angelo's design
for Julius II.'s monument-a description of it is
given in the lecture on English sculpture (page 27).
But let him always remember, that the entire group,
and the alto- or basso-relievo, are the only legitimate
sculpture.
All those monuments of the later Italian school, in
which entire figures are mingled with those of low
relief on pyramidal back-grounds, are mean attempts
to unite the effects and perspective of painting with
the force and severity of sculpture, as ineffectual as
injudicious, and as they partake in the qualities of
both arts, cannot properly be ranked in either.
The sculptor must not forget that his art is limited
in comparison with painting; colours and their
effects are beyond his bound; whether the act he
represents was performed in the bright mid-day sun-
shine or the darkness of midnight concerns him not,
* See Plates LI. LII.
Composition.
165
his forms must be equally perfect, and his expression
equally decided. Even basso-relief, a tree or two,
some rude stone, a flat column, or a wall, slightly
marked in the back-ground, must indicate a forest, a
mountain, or a palace, without detailing a portrait
of their component parts.
Such are the limits which circumscribe the sculp-
tor; but it is a limitation by which he is in a
measure delivered from the restraints of time and
space, which strengthen his powers by concentration,
and by which he is privileged to disregard inferior
objects for the human figure, the most perfect of all
forms, with all the gradations of intelligence,
affection, sentiment, action, or passion, capable of
being expressed in it, individually or in numbers,
and in the different orders of being, from the exalted
supernatural agent to the lower gradations which
terminate in brutal nature.
What has been delivered comprises some of the
rules for composing, and observations on composi-
tion, the most obvious, and perhaps not the least
useful. They have been collected from the best
works and the best writings, examined and com-
pared with their principles in nature. Such a com-·
prehensive view may be useful to the younger
student, in pointing his way, preventing error, and
shewing the needful materials; but, after all, he
must perform the work himself. All rules, all
critical discourses, can but awaken the intelligence,
and stimulate the will, with advice and directions
...
166
Composition.
for a beginning of that which is to be done. They
may be compared to the scaffolding for raising a
magnificent palace; it is neither the building nor
the decoration, but it is the workman's indispensable
help in erecting the walls which enclose the
apartments, and which may afterwards be enriched
with the most splendid ornaments.
Every painter and sculptor feels the conviction
that a considerable portion of science is requisite to
the productions of liberal art; but he will be equally
convinced that whatever is produced from principles
and rules only, added to the most exquisite manual
labour, is no more than a mechanical work. Senti-
ment is the life and soul of fine art; without it, it is
all a dead letter. Sentiment gives a sterling value,
an irresistible charm, to the rudest imagery or most
unpractised scrawl. By this quality a firm alliance
is formed with the affections in all works of art.
With an earnest watchfulness for their preservation,
we are made to perceive and feel the most sublime
and terrific subjects, following the course of senti-
ment through the current and mazes of intelligence
and passion to the most delicate and tender ties and
sympathies of affection;-the benign exertions of
spiritual natures; the tremendous fall of rebel
Angels or Titans; the immoveable fortitude or con-
tending energy of patriotism; the sincerity of friend-
ship, and the irresistible harmony of connubial,
maternal, fraternal, and filial love.
Such effects are produced by the communication of
Composition.
167
the artist's own choicest feelings and faculties, em-
bodied and enforced by the uninterrupted and con-
stant observation and imitation of whatever is
strikingly excellent in nature.
In these discourses on subjects extensive and
various in their relations will be found many defects,
both of matter and example, and some of these the
author is not ashamed to acknowledge may exist
beyond the limits of his intelligence to perceive, or
his power to correct; yet he cherishes a hope of
removing some of the errors, and adding such im-
provements as his abilities permit, with a desire
that the lectures on sculpture may in time become
a portion not unworthy of the noble theory and plan
of education for the sister arts, as pursued in the
Royal Academy.
LECTURE VII.
STYLE.
THE introduction to a theory, whether of science or
art, practical or abstracted, should contain such a
compendious view of the subject as will connect all
the branches or members with the principle on
which they depend for their essential quality and
peculiar characteristic distinction; so that our view
of the whole should comprehend the parts of which
it is composed, and our inquiries concerning the parts
should be guided and regulated by that common prin
ciple in which they are all united.
This universal and indispensable maxim, applied
to a course of lectures on sculpture, will naturally
lead us to some well-known quality which originates
in the birth of the art itself—increases in its growth
-strengthens in its vigour-attains the full measure
of beauty in the perfection of its parent cause—and,
in its decay, withers and expires. Such a quality
will define the stages of its progress, and will mark
the degrees of its debasement; it will point out
how, and when, proportions were obtained by mea-
Style.
169
sure and calculation-when geometrical figures, more
simple or complicated, decided form-how the har
mony of lines in composition produce energy by
contrast, and sympathy by assimilation. Such a
quality immediately determines to our eyes and
understanding the barbarous attempt of the ignorant
savage-the humble labour of the mere workman-
the highest examples of art conducted by science,
ennobled by philosophy, and perfected by the zealous Ant
and extensive study of nature.
Jr. R. Jason
This distinguishing quality is understood by the
term style, in the arts of design. This term, at first,
was applied to poetry, and the style of Homer and
Pindar must have been familiar long before Phidias
or Zeuxis were known; but, in process of time, as
the poet wrote with his style or pen, and the
designer sketched with his style or pencil, the name
of the instrument was familiarly used to express the
genius and productions of the writer and the artist;
and this symbolical mode of speaking has continued
from the earliest times through the classical ages,
the revival of arts and letters, down to the present
moment, equally intelligible, and is now strength-
ened by the uninterrupted use and authority of the
ancients and the moderns.


And here we may remark, that as by the term
style we designate the several stages of progression,
improvement, or decline of the art, so by the same
term, and at the same time, we more indirectly
refer to the progress of the human mind, and states
anmumss
for to
M.
W
ртить
170
Style.
of society; for such as the habits of the mind are,
such will be the works, and such objects as the
understanding and the affections dwell most upon,
will be most readily executed by the hands. Thus
the savage depends on clubs, spears, and axes for
safety and defence against his enemies, and on his
oars or paddles for the guidance of his canoe through
the waters these, therefore, engage a suitable por-
tion of his attention, and, with incredible labour, he
makes them the most convenient possible for his
purpose; and, as a certain consequence, because
usefulness is a property of beauty, he frequently
produces such an elegance of form as to astonish the
more civilized and cultivated of his species.* He
will even superadd to the elegance of form an addi-
tional decoration in relief on the surface of the in-
strument, a wave-line, a zig-zag, or the tie of a band,
imitating such simple objects as his wants and occu-
pations render familiar to his observation—such as
the first twilight of science in his mind enables him
to comprehend. Thus far his endeavours are crowned
with a certain portion of success; but if he extend
his attempts to the human form, or the attributes of
divinity, his rude conceptions and untaught mind
produce only images of lifeless deformity, or of horror
and disgust.
When we consider these weak and inefficient
attempts for a moment, with what astonishment shall
we turn to the almost breathing statue, whose mimic
* New Zealand canoe.

ovement
the post what's
dib ve yor
Style.
flesh seems yielding to the touch! whose balance
alarms with the expectation of movement! whose
countenance beams with the sweetest charities of
humanity! or, like the Jove of Phidias (if it were
possible), adds to the interest of religion. In these
opposite descriptions we contemplate the productions
of man just emerging from gross and savage nature,
and civilized man, formed to moral habits, intellec-
tual enjoyments, and delighting to trace the Creator
in his works.
Such is the difference between the beginning and
the perfection of art. To mark this progress and its
gradations is the object of our present inquiry: nor
will our time be unprofitably employed; for if, by
the characteristics of style, we can secure landmarks
on the road to excellence, we may avoid the danger
of deviating into the paths of emer. Want Ident
error.
Naturint
The characters of style may be properly arranged
under two heads-the natural and the ideal.

The natural style may be defined thus: a repre-
sentation of the human form, according to the distinc-
tions of sex and age, in action or repose, expressing
the affections of the soul.
The same words may be used to define the ideal
style, but they must be followed by this addition—
"selected from such perfect examples as may excite
in our minds a conception of the supernatural."
ANIMA
By these definitions will be understood, that the
natural style is peculiar to humanity, and the ideal
to spirituality and divinity.


S
AMENTANI-
blowing up il-
in the Am
AMI
Style. Polhcrmy
ту

172
In our pursuit of this subject we are aware of the
propensity to imitation common in all, by which our
knowledge of surrounding objects is increased, and
our intellectual faculties are elevated; and we con-
sequently find in most countries attempts to copy the
human figure, in early times, equally barbarous,
whether they were the production of India, Babylon,
Germany, Mexico, or Otaheite. They equally
partake in the common deformities of great heads,
monstrous faces, diminutive and mis-shapen bodies
and limbs. We shall, however, say no more of these
abortions, as they really have no nearer connection
with style than the child's first attempts to write the
alphabet, can claim with the poet's inspiration or the
argument and description of the orator.
We shall now proceed to mark the character, and
trace the progress of style, not from the earliest
dawn, but rather from the sunrise of human intel-
ligence, when the imitative faculty is assisted by
rule, and corrected by reflection-when the repre-
sentation partakes, in some degree, of man's dignity
in countenance and figure. In this state we find
painting and sculpture among the Egyptians, whose
application to geometry, and inquiries concerning
the animal structure, enabled them to give a general,
though imperfect, proportion and outline to their
figures, whose forms, however, were more determined
by simple geometrical lines, than a scrupulous atten-
tion to nature.
Professions in Egypt (as before observed) being
Style.
173
hereditary, the son was obliged to follow his father's
occupation, and as the same particular talent could
not be expected through a series of generations, the
painting or sculpture would have little concern with
genius or study; their productions would be deter-
mined by the family recipe, and the works must be
mechanical labour, not liberal art.
The proportions of Egyptian figures are about
seven heads in height-in slighter works of painting
and relievo frequently more, the breadth of the
figure agreeing with the height. The face is gene-
rally youthful, even when a beard, in the form of a
peg, is added to the chin-we may suppose intended
to signify advancement in years. The nose, eyes,
eyebrows, mouth, and extended line of the cheeks,
are formed of simpler curves than are usually seen
in nature. The countenances greatly resemble each
other, and the expression is placid, with a mixture
of cunning. The shoulders are high and forward;
the body marked only by the projection of the breast
and abdomen, being narrow above the hips. The
arms are rounded, gradually tapering from the
shoulder downwards to the elbow; bend of the arm
and wrists without any resemblance to form of bone
and tendon in those joints. The thighs and legs
formed by a general rounded resemblance to nature,
but equally deficient with the arms as to ignorance
of and incorrectness in the joints. The calf of
the leg, and the form of the tibia in the front view,
as well as the hands and feet, are careless and un
174
Style.
decided. The fingers and toes are rounded, parallel
to each other, straight, and without distinction of
joints.
The attitudes of Egyptian statues have little
variety; if standing, one leg is a little advanced, the
arms hang down close to the sides; sometimes one
arm is laid across the breast.
Figures sitting on
seats have the legs and thighs forming right angles
in the side view, and in front the legs are parallel to
each other. Sometimes the figure sits on the ground,
with the legs drawn near the body in parallel lines;
sometimes the figure is kneeling.
In the historical or allegorical bas-relievos of the
Egyptians, their subjects are composed in the most.
evident and common manner, certainly without arti-
fice or system, on the one hand, as, on the other, they
are devoid of elegance or choice.
The drapery of the Egyptian statues is close, and
seldom interrupted by folds.
The Egyptian animals are superior works of art to
their human statues; and a reason for this is, that
inferior animals are more easily represented.
The style of Egyptian sculpture is simplicity in
the extreme, and the magnitude of their colossal
works is awful; but the simplicity is so excessive,
that one face, and one set of forms, have extended an
universal monotony of resemblance, as far as possible,
through the differences of age and sex. The surface
of the body and limbs betrays great ignorance in
the knowledge of the bones, muscles, and tendons,
Style.
175
which produce the forms in the surface; and although
this people have been celebrated for their skill in
geometry, their basso-relievos and painted composi-
tions demonstrate that they had not advanced suffi-
ciently to determine the balance and motion of the
human figure by the rules of that science.
The Egyptian sculptors astonish us by their inde-
fatigable labour, but, considered as artists, they are
but beginners; their works little more than bodies
without souls, the dead letter of the art, whose
purpose was, symbolically, to deliver an historical
fact, a philosophical precept, or a divine mystery;
but never to charm by life, sentiment, heroic power,
or spiritual beauty.
The Hindu sculpture has been thought to resemble
the Egyptian; but the latter nation has given greater
beauty to the countenance, with a better proportion
to the figure, although some smaller Hindu works
of bronze and ivory have the detail of parts finished
with great delicacy; and the events of Hindu mytho-
logy have furnished various extraordinary and poetical
compositions,* more singular and elegant than have
been hitherto seen in the published antiquities of
Egypt.
The arts of design in China have been also supposed
to bear some resemblance to those of Egypt; but the
architecture is wholly different in character and
principle. The sculpture of the two nations seems
* Vishnu's Elephant, Horse, and Goose. From Moore's Hindu
Pantheon.
176
Style.
A
to have little in common; and whatever painting
they practised in ancient times might be native, or
foreign, received from India or Greece, but, for
centuries past, we know too much of their intercourse
with Europe not to be sure that their best works
have been matured by foreign instruction.
Having incidentally mentioned the arts of these
two countries in relation to those of Egypt, we will
proceed in our inquiries concerning style, by an
examination of early works in Greece.
Fortunately for us, we have a mass of undoubted
evidence existing, so extensive in its nature, and
yet so perfect in coincidence, as will excite surprise
when we consider the succeeding tides of destruction
it has escaped, and the long series of ages it has
endured.
Homer and Hesiod have introduced us to so
accurate a knowledge of the military, rural, and
domestic habits of the heroic ages, and have dis-
tinguished the persons with such peculiar character
and life, that we seem to ourselves acquainted and
intimate with the kings, warriors, judges, elders,
husbandmen, and shepherds; we are present in their
councils, their encounters for fame and victory; we
partake in the culture of their fields, and the abun
dance of their harvests, and the still, clear evening:
with them we watch the sky, the Hyades, the
Pleiades, Orion's strength, the Bear, and all the
glittering stars which crown the heavens!
We are now familiar with the plans and military
Style.
177
•
architecture of Mycena,* Argos, and Tiryns, Cyclo-
pean works, the dominion and residence of Agamemnon
and his ancestors, as published by Sir William Gell,
but previously discovered and drawn by M. Fauvel,
the French consul in Athens.
Another source of information concerning Greek
style and design will be found in the painted vases,
and early coins of the country:† the numerous collec-
tions of vases published by Sir William Hamilton,
Tischbein, Millin, Millingen, &c. form an endless
treasure to the artist and the antiquary, supplying
every species of example and illustration.
Coincident and satisfactory information concerning
early Greece expands in proportion with the progress
of that people towards the high rank they occupied
among the nations of antiquity. Their theologians,
philosophers, poets, statesmen, mathematicians, anato-
mists, and artists, have left unerring guides in their
writings and monuments, for us to trace the steps by
which they reached excellence, and by that means to
determine the different styles and characters of their
works.
We may in this place repeat a popular observation,
that the institutions and climate of Greece were
equally favourable to personal beauty, and conse-
quently to the study of painting and sculpture; for
as the genial sunshine and mild breezes rendered
only light clothing requisite, and in some cases
rejected the incumbrance wholly, the body and limba
*See Plate XIV.
† Macedonia or Thrace.
N
178
Style.
being commonly seen, naturally led to the contem-
plation of form in the human figure, and comparison of
beauty in the parts between one subject and another.
The Pentathlon, or five Olympic games, of wrest-
ling, boxing, throwing the quoit, running, and riding
one or more horses at full speed, engaged all the
noble youth of Greece in the honourable contest, and
improved the powers of the body and limbs by the
force of exertion, and added grace to beauty by facility
of motion. Of what importance this power and
beauty of person, accompanied by such dexterity and
agility, was to the possessor we are informed by the
consequences: a conqueror in one of the games was
honoured as if he returned from the conquest of
foreign enemies-crowned with olive-drawn to the
city in a chariot by four horses-and a breach was
made in the wall for his entrance; his statue was
erected in the sacred wood, and the most celebrated
poet sang his praises. He that obtained the prize
three times, was complimented with a statue, the
portrait of his face, and the particular lineaments of
his figure. Among the celebrations of this kind were
verses which hail the conqueror by name, with the
epithet of Kalòs, the Beautiful; and, indeed, the
sublimest of their philosophers do not fail in their
discourses, with a pious reverence, to refer this beauty
to a correspondent spiritual beauty in the divine
source of all perfection. So much was the beauty of
the human form esteemed in Greece, and such the
motives from which it was cultivated!
Style.
179
We may observe in this place, that Grecian art
began where Egyptian art ended.
The Egyptian statuaries were hereditary laborious
mechanics; their works were lifeless forms, menial
vehicles of an idea, or the fixed slaves of uniformity
in a temple or a palace.
In Greece, painting and sculpture were liberal
arts: they were studied by the noblest and best-
educated persons; they were improved by the accu-
mulation of science; they were employed to excite
and celebrate virtue and excellence; and, finally, to
exalt the mind of the beholder to the contemplation
of divine qualities and attributes.
Neither, our present limits, nor the intention of this
Academy, permit us to extend our inquiries beyond
a rational theory to regulate the study of design;
but strictly within these limits we may observe that
in whatever instances the institutions of Greece
cultivated and rendered more powerful the virtuous
exertions of mind and body, the arts of design also
were animated by their beneficial effects, to a degree
which surpassed the other nations of antiquity, and
have laid a foundation of principles and practice for
all succeeding ages.
We shall now endeavour to trace the characters
of style which marked the distinct periods of Grecian
art.
*The early statues strongly resemble the Egyptian
*Plates XVI. XVIE
180
Style.
in attitude, in form, in want of outline and anatomical
distinction; they have also nearly the same expres-
sion of countenance.
The compositions on painted vases immediately
succeeding this period offer little variety of subject:
-Acts of the heroic ages, the encounter of Theseus
and the Minotaur, the duel of Eteocles and Poly-
nices,* Hercules strangling the Lion; to these may
be added Bacchanalian dances.
The drawing of the figure, as well as the choice of
subjects, indicate the state of society; the compressed
abdomen and spare limbs prove habits of activity in
war and in the race; the Bacchanalian dances shew
the introduction of mysteries and pageants in an
increasing polytheism, and both seem perfectly con-
sistent with the manners of the early inhabitants of
fortified cities.
The early arts of Greece were interrupted in their
progress by a succession of political commotions and
destructive wars, and we scarcely perceive any im-
provement in them until the time of the Seven Sages,
of Pythagoras and Esop, who were all contemporaries,
about 130 years before Phidias. They increased the
intellectual light of their country by foreign travel
and laborious study, they reformed the laws and
morals, improved science and the useful arts of astro-
nomy, geometry, numbers, harmony, and medicine,
including the animal structure and economy. Their
* Mercury leading Juno, Venus, and Minerva.
Style.
181
philosophy taught a purer system of divinity and
providence, and the works of the poets were made
known in public libraries.
The benign influence of such advantages was felt
in the arts of design, and prepared them for that
beauty and perfection with which they were subse-
quently graced in the times of Pericles, Alexander,
and his successors.
The works of the age we are now speaking of
embraced a greater variety of subjects, in composition
more copious; the Bacchanalian dances were in
greater number,—the labours of Hercules, Nessus
and Dejanira, processions of the gods, and acts in the
Theban war.
Pausanias describes the chest of Cyp-
selus, Tyrant of Corinth, covered with a great
number of heroic stories in relief.
Although the Grecian sculpture was considerably
advanced after the age of the Seven Wise Men, some
of the old barbarism still remained. Much of the
ancient face and figure continued. In painting and
bas-relief the faces were profiles, whatever might be
the position of the figure.*
The limbs were dis-
torted, because the artist was unacquainted with the
structure of the joint, and the lines of its perspective.
The breasts, general curves of the ribs on each side
of the thorax, the bend of the arms, and a small
projection for the knee-pan, were the chief, and
almost the only, indications of bone and muscle.
That infinite variety of compounded lines, requisite
* Hercules seizing the Tripod from Apollo.
182
Style.
to draw or carve the features of the face, in any even
the most common views, were beyond the skill of
these times. They, therefore, substituted the easier
method of making the eyes, nose, and mouth of
nearly simple curves, whose extremities turned up-
wards in the same direction. Simple geometrical
forms were equally employed in the folds of drapery
-parallel curves across the body or limbs-perpen-
dicular parallels in falling drapery, and zig-zags, like
reversed steps, for the edges of the drapery. Thus
in the early efforts of design, geometrical formality
supplied the place of the ever-varying forns in
nature.
In compositions which required an increased num-
ber of figures, two were seldom grouped; and when
this was done, the group was frequently awkward,
and sometimes impracticable. In the course of this
period, however, the figure was better drawn, the
parts were more defined; and on a nearer approach
to the age of Phidias there were some attempts to
distinguish between divinity and mortality.
The early arts above described represented the
persons and habits of a race chiefly occupied in the
exercises of war and hunting, agriculture and the
care of flocks and herds, living in the open air, and
defending themselves from their enemies by im-
pregnable fortifications on rocks; their arts consist-
ing in the fabrication of instruments for agriculture
and war, the architectural construction of walls and
citadels, to which may be added potter's vessels for
Style.
183
domestic use and sacred offices, on which they in-
dulged the more intellectual powers, by tracing heroic
traditions and religious processions.
The Doric simplicity in this style of art is im-
posing from its determined expression, and awful
by an uncommon and barbarous character. The pro-
cessions consist of uniform repetitions: their actions
are violent, stiff, and angular oppositions; but these
being faithfully transcribed from the grosser appear-
ances of human character, expression, and action,
laid a sure though rude foundation of principles for
the superstructure of excellence afterwards raised on
them by succeeding improvements.
From the age of Pericles to the death of Alex-
ander the Great, Greece was the focus of admiration
to the world. Greece destroyed the Persian power,
the terror of all nations. Nor was the mental
progress of this people less admirable than their
military achievements-their science was extended
and enlarged by the succession of their wise men-
their philosophers taught more distinctly and pub-
licly the doctrine of a Deity, and the subordinate
agencies of His providence throughout the visible
and invisible universe. Their poets harmonized
their minds by numbers, and enriched their imagina-
tions by presenting the range of whatever is sublime
and beautiful in visible nature or mental abstrac-
tion.
Such was the spirit of patriotism, that the richest
citizens did not endeavour to exceed others in the
184
Style.
magnificence of their houses or tables, but employed
their wealth for the security and defence of their
country, and in raising noble public buildings and
works for the service of religion, and in honour of
public and private virtue.
We shall not be surprised that in a period of such
combinations, two works of sculpture were produced,
which are numbered among the seven wonders of
the world,* the Olympian Jupiter, by Phidias, and
the Colossus of Rhodes. These were equal in size
to the most enormous Egyptian statues, but they
resembled them only in bulk and prodigious height.
The Olympian Jupiter and the Colossus of the Sun,
appeared to be animated and intelligent-not with
the life and intelligence of man, but of supernatural
existence, whose finished beauty and wondrous
majesty seemed immortal.
The magnificence of this period † furnished two
other works likewise enumerated among the seven
wonders, to which the great sculptors added the
most admired decorations; but as these works were
architectural, we shall return to our subject—the
style of sculpture.
Quintilian's "Twelfth Book of Institutions" pre-
sents a compendious view of the progressive improve-
ments of style in painting and sculpture in the fol-
lowing passage :—
* See Plate XX.
†The great Pyramid and the Sphinx of Memphis, &c.
+ Mausolus.
Style.
185
"The first of those whose works attracted notice,
not for the sake of antiquity only, were Polygnotus
and Aglaophon, called famous painters, so studious
of the simple colour, that they could be considered
only as rude beginners, and the first that made
essays towards the production of future art, especially
compared with Zeuxis and Parrhasius, who followed
soon after. The first of these discovered the rules
for light and shadow, and the latter is said to have
been more accurate in the examination of his lines.
For Zeuxis enlarged the body and limbs, following
Homer, who was pleased with powerful forms, even
in women; but Parrhasius so circumscribed all, that
he was called the Legislator, because the figures of
the gods and heroes, as delivered by him, were fol-
lowed by others as if from necessity.
"Painting flourished particularly from the time of
Philip to the successors of Alexander, but in divers
qualities by the care of Protogenes-by the rules
of Pamphilus and Melanthius-by the facility of
Antiphilus-by the imagination of Theon the Samian;
and from the genius and grace with which he was
endowed, Apelles was the most excellent.
Euphranor caused himself to be admired, being
among the most distinguished for the best studies,
and at the same time a wonderful painter and
sculptor.
66
"There was a like difference in the statues: the
more hard, approaching the Tuscan style, were by
Callon and Egesius; the less rigid by Calamis; the
186
Style.
more soft than those already mentioned (that is to
say, more resembling flesh) were by Miron. Poly-
cletus excelled the others in diligence and decorum,
and although the palm was given to him by many,
yet something was to be deducted because he was
deficient in gravity; for as he added a grace to the
human form beyond the truth, so he seemed not to
have fulfilled the authority of the gods; and as he
was said to have avoided the more important age, he
presumed only to engage in lighter subjects. But
the qualities wanting in Polycletus were given to
Phidias and Alcamenes.* Phidias is said to have
made gods better than men, his works in ivory are
unrivalled, even if he had done nothing but the
Athenian Minerva or the Olympian Jove in Elis,
whose beauty seems to have added something to the
received religion, so much the majesty of the work
appeared to equal the divinity.
'Lysippus and Praxiteles, they affirm, approached
nearest to the truth, for Demetrius is much repre-
hended as being a greater lover of exact resemblance
than beauty."
(6
As this compendious criticism is in perfect agree-
ment with the ancient monuments of art still exist-
ing, there can be no doubt that it was composed by
Quintilian from the writings of the ancient artists,
whose MS. works he must have consulted equally
with Pliny the naturalist, and there is sufficient
reason also to believe that both these authors con-
* See Plates XIX. XX. and XXI.
Style.
187
sulted Greek artists at that time living and employed
in Italy.
Sculpture rose to supreme eminence in the age of
Phidias, by the additional attainments of the art, by
the greatness of the works, and the sublimity of
style. To establish our assertions, a transient view
will be sufficient of the more celebrated productions
in succession.
The Athenian Minerva, and the Olympian Jupiter
by Phidias, both astonishing for greatness, but more
so by the awful impression of divinity imposed on
their innumerable beholders. In Jupiter, the
Homeric divinity was personified with a beauty of
majesty, beyond which human intellect did not
extend. Minerva, the type of divine wisdom and
power, both to the philosopher and common votary,
manifested the charms of celestial youth with the
expression of severe virtue. These determined the
acknowledged apparent forms of these divinities,
from which no painter or sculptor afterwards pre-
sumed to deviate. The countenances, figures, and
attributes of all the other divinities in Homer
were soon after decided by Phidias and his suc-
cessors, whose laws became immutable, and were
submitted to with willingness, until the darkness of
polytheism was dispersed by the sacred light of the
Gospel.
Yet with this pious reflection in our hearts, we
cannot avoid pausing to dwell on the exquisite
beauty of the ancient sculpture. The choice of the
188
Style.
most perfect forms-countenances expressive of the
most elevated dispositions of mind and innocence of
character—the limbs and bodies, examples of manly
grace and strength, or of female elegance-youth and
beauty, in all their varieties and combinations in
perfection indeed, we must believe, when we look
on those forms, so purified from grossness and imper-
fection, that if we could see angels and divine natures,
they would resemble these.
The improvements of this and the following ages
were not confined to determination of character,
selection of form, harmony of proportion, or what-
ever else most perfect may be conceived in the in-
dividual divinity or hero; they were extended
through the various branches of association; and the
noble composition of Mycon, a sculptor and painter
rather anterior to Phidias, of the fight between the
Lapithæ and Centaurs in the Temple of Theseus,*
with compositions by Phidias on the shield of
Minerva, and on the throne of the Olympian Jupiter,
embodied the Homeric theology and heroism, by
examples which have generated or afforded prin-
ciples for the subsequent efforts of painting and
sculpture.
This will be the proper place to notice a subject
which has caused much discussion, and which has
generally been decided against the ancients, although a
living author, M. Quatremère de Quincy, has defended
the ancients with much learning and ingenuity, in an
* British Museum.
Style.
189
elaborate work. The practice here alluded to is
colouring statues, and thus uniting painting and
sculpture.
Without regarding the arguments that have been
used on either side of this question, let us try the
merits ourselves with unprejudiced minds, and de-
cide from the conviction of natural evidence only.
We certainly know that the arts of painting and
sculpture are different in their essential properties.
Painting exists by colours only, and form is the
peculiarity of sculpture; but there is a principle
common to both, in which both are united, and
without which neither can exist-and this is draw-
ing; and in the union of light, shadow, and colour,
sculpture may be seen more advantageously by the
chill light of a winter's day, or the warmer tints of
a midsummer sun, according to the solemnity or
cheerfulness of the subject. These positions will be
generally agreed to, but the question before us is,
"How far was Phidias successful in adding colours
to the sculpture of the Athenian Minerva and the
Olympian Jove?" which examples were followed by
succeeding artists.
We have all been struck by the resemblance of
figures in coloured wax-work to persons in fits, and
therefore such a representation is particularly proper
for the similitude of persons in fits, or for the de-
ceased; but the Olympian Jupiter and Athenian
Minerva were intended to represent those who were
superior to death and disease. They were believed
190
Style.
immortal, and therefore the stillness of these statues
having the colouring of life during the time the spec-
tator viewed them, would appear divinity in awful
abstraction or repose. Their stupendous size, alone.
was supernatural; and the colours of life, in perfect
stillness, increased the sublimity of the statue, and
the terror of the pious beholder. The effect of the
materials which composed these statues has also
been questioned. The statues themselves (according
to the information of Aristotle, in his book concern-
ing the world) were made of stone, covered with
plates of ivory, so fitted together that, at the distance
requisite for seeing them, they appeared one mass of
ivory, which has much the tint of delicate flesh. The
ornaments and garments were enriched with gold,
coloured metals, and precious stones.
Gold ornaments on ivory are equally splendid and
harmonious, and in such colossal forms must have
added a dazzling glory, like electric fluid running
over the surface: the figure, character, and splendour
must have had the appearance of an immortal vision
in the eyes of the votary.
But let us attend to the judgment passed on these
works by the ancients: we have already quoted
Quintilian, who says, "they appear to have added
something to religion, the work was so worthy of the
divinity." Plato says, "the eyes of Minerva were
of precious stones," and immediately adds, "Phidias
was skilful in beauty." Aristotle calls him "the
wise sculptor." An opinion prevailed that Jupiter
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Style:
191
had revealed himself to Phidias, and the statue was
said to have been touched with lightning in appro-
bation of the work. After these testimonies, there
seems no doubt remaining of the effect produced by
these coloured statues but the very reasons which
prove that colours in sculpture may have the effect
of supernatural vision, fits, or death, prove at the
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same time that such practice is utterly improper for
general representation of the human figure: because,
as the tints of carnation in nature are consequences
of circulation, wherever the colour of flesh is seen
without motion, it resembles only death, or suspen-
sion of the vital powers.
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Let not this application of colours, however, in the
instances of the Jupiter and Minerva, be considered
as a mere arbitrary decision of choice or taste in the
sculptor, to render his work agreeable in the eyes of
the beholder. It was produced by a much higher
motive. It was the desire of rendering these stu-
pendous forms living and intelligent, to the as
tonished gaze of the votary, and to confound the
sceptical by a flash of conviction, that something of
divinity resided in the statues themselves.
The practice of painting sculpture seems to have
been common to most countries, particularly in the
early and barbarous states of society. But whether
we look on the idols of the South Seas, the Etruscan
painted sculpture and terra-cotta monuments, or the
recumbent coloured statues on tombs of the middle
ages, we shall generally find the practice has been

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192
Style.
employed to enforce superstition, or preserve an
exact similitude of the deceased.
These, however, are in themselves perverted pur-
poses. The real ends of painting, sculpture, and all
other arts, are to elevate the mind to the contempla-
tion of truth, to give the judgment a rational deter-
mination, and to represent such of our fellow-men as
have been benefactors to society, not in the deplor-
able and fallen state of a lifeless and mouldering
corpse, but in the full vigour of their faculties when
living, or in something correspondent to the state of
the good received among the just made perfect.
As the consideration of painted sculpture cannot
really be entitled to any place in the progress of
style, we will return to our legitimate subject.
The British Museum contains such noble relics of
the Temple of Minerva, as enables us to understand
the sublime conception of composition which filled
the pediment, the heroic contest of the Lapithæ and
Centaurs in the Metopes, and the animated men and
horses in the Panathenaic procession of the frieze.
It is the peculiar character and praise of Phidias's
style, that he represented gods better than men.
As this sculptor determined the visible idea of
Jupiter, his successors employed a hundred years
on the forms of the inferior divinities. This must,
therefore, be denominated the sublime era of sculp-
ture.
Numerous were the painters and sculptors of
renown, and numerous were their celebrated works
Style.
193
between the time of Pericles and Phidias, and the
death of Alexander the Great. During this time,
the individual characters of the different divinities
were not only represented in the supposed period of
adult perfection, but also in infancy and youth, with
all the varieties of countenance and form becoming
their various offices and ministries.
I may instance the different forms in which Bac-
chus is represented, as an infant when he was
delivered by Mercury to the nymphs; as a beautiful
youth of almost feminine delicacy, supported by one
of the Muses, and leader of the chorus; again,
in a more masculine form, as a conqueror, or the
giver of poetical inspiration; and lastly, as the
venerable and bearded philosopher, in the sacred
mysteries, teaching the immortality of the soul,
transmigration, with the descent to Hades, or the
lower world. Similar variations of character are seen
in Apollo, Mercury, and the other deities, male and
female.
During this era the Venus of Praxiteles* appeared,
the most admired female statue of all antiquity,
whose beauty is as perfect as it is elevated, and as
innocent as perfect; from which the Mediceau
Venus seems but a deteriorated variety.
Whoever desires a more detailed account of the
works of these ages will be gratified by consulting
Pliny, Pausanias, and the published galleries and
museums of ancient sculpture and painting.
*See Plate XXII.
194
Style.
In the times we speak of, every possible perfec-
tion that rival and accumulated talent could reach
was added to the sister arts. In the character
of countenance, every gradation from simple beauty
to sublime dignity- the same gradation in form,
from the most slender and elegant to the most
powerful and massive-the attitudes the most choice,
the movements the most easy, and the flesh seem-
ingly yielding to the touch. The drapery in form
and folds shewed or indicated the body and limbs
most advantageously, by playing round the outline
in harmony or contrast, or giving additional effect
by the projection of strong shades.
The earlier productions of this era were distin-
guished by a Doric severity of style, which raised
the subject above the level of general nature, and
beyond its bounds. The geometrical simplicity of
form was ideal; the character was decided, and the
sentiment was single: of this class is the group of
Niobe and her youngest daughter. A less severity
of style is in the Apollo Belvidere. The most easy
sway of motion, and the most delicate approaches to
nature are observable in the statues of Venus, the
Cupid, Faun, and Bacchus, of Praxiteles.
Busts and statues (portraits of individual persons)
were not generally permitted, until near the time of
the death of Socrates; and as this practice, once
introduced, became popular and extensive under the
successors of Alexander the Great, it was an addi-
tional stimulus to the study of the human figure in
Style.
195
detail, and thus as the art departed from ideal sub-
limity, it partook of the peculiarities of nature. It
descended to the intelligible, and became a stronger
resemblance of the human race.
When Greece became provincial to the Romans,
it indeed suffered a political subjection to its con-
querors but in return, the Romans were mental
colonists to the Greeks, and received from them
philosophy, science, literature, and arts. Grecian
genius continued its admirable productions under
the Roman emperors. The fine groups of Menelaus
and Patroclus, Hæmon and Antigone, Pætus and
Arria, Orestes and Electra, the Toro Farnese, or
Zethus and Amphion tying Dirce to the bull's horns,
and the Laocoon, were between the later years of
the Roman republic and the time of the last Cæsars.
To these may be added the beautiful examples of
composition in basso-relievo, from Homeric my-
thology and ancient tragedy, among the latest pro-
ductions of genuine Grecian sculpture. We shall
not dwell on the pediments, arches, imperial statues,
consular portraits, gems, and coins executed by the
ingenious Greek, to swell the impious pride, and
gratify the ignorant vanity of his rapacious master
in the latter ages of the empire.
Then, sublimity and beauty, the essence of the
ancient Grecian works, had, like Justice and
Modesty, quitted the earth, and returned to the
family of the immortals in heaven, to avoid the
horrors of an iron age.
196
Style.
The Roman lust of dominion, avarice, and cruelty,
had long provoked the remoter objects of their
tyranny, the Goths, Vandals, Pannonians, Dacians,
and Scythians, who at last poured the torrent of
destruction back on the oppressors, levelling cities
and their hosts in one fearful ruin, leaving only
desolation and barbarism behind them. The schools
of philosophy and literature in Athens ceased; those
of Alexandria were destroyed and abandoned. The
age of lead succeeded.
Painting and sculpture, under the Goths and
Lombards, instead of exalting the intellect by the
contemplation of beauty, heroic and divine, bur-
lesqued the human figure by such clumsy and absurd
forms, as could scarcely be supposed to be intended
for man.
Such was the state of art from the seventh
to the eleventh century in Europe. The arts, how-
ever, were not to be wholly obliterated; for there is
that inherent connection between the mind of man
and progressive knowledge, that to deprive him
entirely of the means of becoming wiser, and exer-
cising his ingenuity, would be to take from him his
rationality, and brutalize him at once. Besides,
information and true science are given us as the
means of rising from the ruins of fallen nature to
higher intelligence and greater happiness: the pre-
servation of arts and letters was therefore provided
for in a wonderful manner, as appendages to religion,
and as handmaids in the dispensation of the Gospel.
When Constantine the Great transferred the seat of
Style.
197
empire from Rome to Constantinople, the arts had
much declined in the former city, although they still
preserved a great portion of their vigour in Greece.
The emperor employed the arts of painting and
sculpture in an abundance of magnificent Christian
decorations for his new capital, and the churches he
built in it. This was the foundation for a stock of
Christian art, which supplied the different countries
of Europe after the barbarous inundations from the
north had subsided, and assisted in raising the fallen
arts of Italy, until the mighty genius of Michael
Angelo shone forth in the unrivalled Sistine Chapel,
whose interests and terrors, sublimity, beauty, and
power of grouping, combined in the comprehension
of sacred subjects, excels all we know, as a whole, in
ancient or modern art.
3-Form
pressionier
-Clothing
the meme sculpture

LECTURE VIII.
DRAPERY.
AFTER considering the powers, character, and sen-
timent of the human figure, as expressed in its
forms, we may next proceed to its clothing, more
especially with a view to those plaits and folds whose
lines contrast or vary the lines of the body they
Cover-twine round the limbs-hang in downward
curves from one projecting point to another—in-
crease boldness of effect by additional projection-
or vary the undulations of the zig-zag edges, which
is understood by the term Drapery in the art of
design.
Drapery, as a medium through which the human
figure is intelligible, may be compared with speech,
by which ideas and thought are perceived. Dignity
is expressed by simplicity, grandeur, and quantity:
action by exertion and succession; grace by those
gentle and harmonious undulations peculiar to all
the efforts of this quality, and which are inspired
by the most grateful and soothing dispositions of
the soul. This consistency of the original image
Drapery.
199
with its outward appearance, is proper and decorous,
and cannot be violated without inflicting the shock
of absurdity and folly; for as the noblest thought
would be degraded by low and unbecoming speech,
so would the person of a legislator or a prophet by
the dress of a buffoon or a bacchanal.
This introduction of our subject is intended to
inform the younger student that drapery will form
an important branch in his future study; it will add
to the character of his figures, and give additional
interest to sentiment and situation: it will not bear
neglect, or slight, like articles of furniture or back-
ground, which, as they are utterly separated from
the pathos of sublime composition can scarcely
deserve any share of his attention
We will begin with an inquiry into the principles
upon which the folds of drapery are formed; we will
consider the difference of the finer and the heavier
draperies—offer some critical observations on the
clothing of different countries, as useful or advan-
tageous to the human form-and produce examples
to illustrate the discourse.
PRENERIS SPONTAN
مل تھی۔
Drapery, like all other natural bodies, is subject
to the laws of gravity and motion, by which it is
affected according to its lightness or weight, strength
or weaknest, the repose or action of the wearer, and
the force of wind it is affected by these causes
simply or complexly as it may be acted on by their
separate or united force.
The most simple forms of drapery are produced


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Drapery.
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:
the weight of the cloth itself, hanging from the
most projecting points of the figure, in a perpen-
dicular fold the next originates from two projecting
points of the figure and forms a pointed arch
reversed.* A succession of such folds, broken into
various lengths, and opposed in their diagonal forms,
are among the boldest and most beautiful effects of
drapery. These folds again become more compli-
cated by twisting, and by which they will be partly
suspended from two points, and partly supported by
the body or limbs over which they are drawn. The
varieties produced in the folds, from suspension,
are multiplied and altered according to the portion
of the figure they pass over, and according to the
fineness and thickness of the cloth.
A full cloak, fastened round the neck, tied in
front, and falling without interruption from the
arms, will present nearly plain surfaces in every
view a little flattened sometimes on the bend of the
back, and distinguished in front by the meeting of
the straight edges.†
The same garment, still fuller in its quality, under
the same circumstances, falls into a number of per-
pendicular folds. The same cloak,‡ raised by one
arm, will be divided by diagonal folds, inverted in
their arches, opposed in direction, and connected by
joints. The folds of this simplest of garments will
be further varied and complicated, by throwing one
*Plate XLII.
† Phocion-Muse Guestiniane.
St. Philip. Plate XLI.
Drapery.
201
side of the cloak over the opposite arm, by various
positions of the hands, and by every other circum-
stance of interruption and rest, opposed to the natural
weight of the folds.
We will now consider the mechanical structure of
the drapery by the simple lines of the folds as their
principles.
1st. The perpendicular fold,* hanging from one
point.
2nd. The succession of diagonal folds, falling from
each other, hanging from two points, and which may
be varied to infinity: for example, falling from the
two points of the shoulders in the hollow of the
back—from the two shoulders over the projection
of the breast and abdomen-falling from one shoulder
-and from the lower arm, making the principal
folds below the elbow-and each of these again
varied by every change of position and motion.
3rd. The cascade of diagonal forms produced by the
edges when diagonally folded towards the extremity.
more
These three classes, although exemplified in the
cloak, contain the principles of all folds, however
produced, in all garments and draperies-modified
by twisting--enlarging the direction to
circular forms, by the force of wind-or the succession
of waving projections in the lower extremities of a
garment, agitated by the motion of the feet in
running.
We will now pursue the subject in an inquiry
* See Plates XLII. and XLIII.
202
Drapery.
concerning the modification of folds, in such gar-
ments as are closed, or fitted to the form of the body.
Those garments called tunics by the Romans,
nearly resemble the country or waggoners' frocks
in their form. Some are longer, reaching to the
ankles—some fuller, having an abundance of folds
-others scanty, discovering a more uninterrupted
outline of the figure, with more breadth of light and
shade, and fewer intersections of their own folds.
These have sometimes larger, sometimes smaller
sleeves-sometimes reaching the elbow,* sometimes
the wrist-and sometimes they are without sleeves.
When the tunic is made of thin woollen or calico,
its folds take their rise from the breast, and fall
directly to the feet, and there will be diverted into
different playful forms, as it rests on them, or is
altered by their motion.
If this garment is confined round the smaller
part of the figure by a girdle, the folds will be of the
inverted-arch kind, arising from the shoulders, and,
below the girdle, they will fall in perpendicular
masses of folds over the lower limbs, when the figure
is not in action, or preparing for action.
The sleeves, if full, will begin with folds falling
from the shoulders before and behind; but these
folds will be widened and changed into cross folds
at the bend of the arm, and continue crossing the
* Small figures on Aylmer de Valence's Tomb in Westminster
Abbey. Casts from them are in the Sepulchral Chamber of Sir
John Soane's Museum.
Drapery.
203
lower arm, more or less diagonally, to its termination
at the wrist.
The folds become more or less diagonally spiral
from the body if the arm is turned outward, and
toward the body if the arm is turned inward. The
folds on the back of the lower arm owe the upper
portion of their direction to union with, or separation
from, a projecting knobbed fold at the elbow. The
same principles of folding on the arms will govern
all coverings, from the fullest and most redundant,
to the straitest and most exactly fitted to the limb-
and, therefore, will preclude the necessity of saying
more on this part of the subject.
Concerning the finer and more transparent dra-
peries used by the ancients, their texture, and
consequently their folds, strongly resembled our
calico muslin, and are peculiar to the more elegant
and delicate female characters of Grecian sculpture*
-to the Nymphs, terrestrial, marine, and baccha-
nalian-Victories, Seasons, or Hours, and celestial
female messengers.†
The more transparent of these draperies leave
the forms and outline of the person as perfectly
intelligible as if no covering were interposed between
the eye and the object; and the existence of the veil
is only understood by groups of small folds col-
lected in the hollows between the body and limbs,
or playing in curves and undulations on the bolder

*Herculaneum Tufa. Plate XLIII.
† See Plates XLIV. XLV. XLVI. and XLVII.
204
Drapery.
parts, adding the magic of diversity to the charm of
beauty.
We will next consider the effect of motion upon
drapery such motion is here intended as the garment
partakes of, or is propelled from the wearer's move-
ment only.
As soon as a limb is moved from a perpendicular
towards a horizontal direction, the drapery hanging
on it changes the forms of its folds. The perpen-
dicular folds bend by their weight into a curve,
from the impulse of motion, or change from perpen-
dicular to the inverted arch, the strongest portion of
the fold depending from the stronger of the two
supporters, whether it be that part of the person
which is in rest, or that in motion. This is more
particularly seen in the cloak or loose outer garment,
but the principle is evident in all drapery worn
by the human figure: as, for example, the lower
portion of a tunic falls in perpendicular folds over
the legs in a state of rest, but the instant one leg
is advanced beyond the other in walking, the per-
pendicular folds, falling from the greatest projection
in front of the figure, become curved, clinging in the
lower extremities to the unmoved leg, until that
limb is set forward, when the same change is
produced on the other side: and this effect is still
more evident in running violently, when the curved
folds, at last, become horizontal, at right angles with
the limbs.
Motion of the figure affects the whole mass of
Drapery.
205
Į
drapery about the body; the folds are most inter-
rupted and broken on the side moved in shortest
space, as the curves are most lengthened on the
side moved in a greater extent, and they are twisted
most diagonally where there is the greatest power of
motion.
Upon the legs, the folds change from downright
to long curves, in walking or running, alternately
as one leg or the other is set forward.* The
greater quantity of folds naturally falls in the hollow
spaces, and in quick motion the heavier portion of
folds are left behind the figure by their own weight,
in a diagonal curve, from the point on which they
are supported.
We will now consider a cause of motion in drapery
entirely independent of the figure by which it is
worn: this is wind, whose effects are more seen
in those parts of the garment extended beyond the
outline of the figure; and to obtain the more
accurate idea of the manner in which it acts on
drapery, we should observe its effects on flexible and
fluent bodies in general.
The wind blowing on water, by pressure on a
small portion of the fluid nearest, forces it into a
wave, from resistance of a body of water, not affected
by the wind, on the other side of it: or thus, the
wind blowing obliquely on water, is resisted by
the mass beneath, until the surface is raised into a
wave, which, bending over the wave before it, falls
*Plate XLIV.
206
Drapery.
by the laws of gravitation into the surface again.*
There is a propensity to the same forms and
successions in clouds of the sky, and dust of the
ground driven before the wind; and from the same
causes.
The pendant, or streamer, hanging from the top
of a mast, is driven by the wind in the same direc-
tion, and may be represented by the same section.
as a succession of waves on the water.
Progressive movement of the figure changes the
perpendicular of falling folds into undulations. This
is more evident as the motion is quicker: but the
wind undulates all draperies; when moderate, the
undulation is diagonal, and when violent, it is
horizontal.‡
Effect of violent wind on cloaks.§
In the Gem of Callirrhoe || the drapery is shaken
and agitated to the utmost with the agonizing whirl
of the wearer.
A statue of Iris¶ descending from Ida to Olympus;
the flow of drapery filled like a sail, while the breeze
sports in the successive waving of its edges.
Examples might be easily produced far exceeding
our present purpose, which is to lay down the prin-
ciples of study, not to circumvent the composer, or
tempt the unwary, by daring and far-sought exam-
*Plate XLII.
+ Plate XLII.
Example. Undulating downward folds, horizontal above in
profile. Sketch of Bacchanal, Plate XLIV.; undulations above
the feet.
§ Plate XLIV.
|| Plate XLV.
¶ Plate XLVI.
Drapery.
207
ples, into a devious attachment to the preposterous
and incredible. Simplicity, beauty, dignity, affection,
and passion, employ the general contemplations and
efforts of the sister arts with most success. We must
remember, as in the Bacchic processions of antiquity,
"Many carry the thyrsus, but few are inspired by
the gods."
If any one, however, determines to go beyond
his competitors in the extraordinary, the wonderful,
or the sublime, let him first be assured he possesses
powers equal to the undertaking, or the certain
consequences will only be vapour and extravagance.
These Lectures have continually referred to exam-
ples of Grecian painting and sculpture for illustration,
as to the most perfect productions of imitative art,
and have never engaged in classical inquiry or
criticism further than was absolutely requisite to
understand our subject as painters and sculptors:
the reason for which is plain our studies and our
employments are directed to the form and sentiment
of the human figure; for this reason, therefore, we
shall at present leave all inquiry concerning the
names and forms of particular ancient garments to
Montfaucon, Winckelman, the Notes on the Hercu-
laneum Museum, and other professed writers of
antiquity; whilst we notice only such garments as
exhibit the human figure most advantageously-
give dignity to its character-enrich its particular
forms by flowing lines—or harmonize in its sentiment
and actions.

208
Drapery.
Of all garments, the cloak is the simplest, being
only a large square cloth laid on the person, or
thrown round the figure, according to the wearer's
convenience. It belongs to the most grave and
dignified characters, philosophers, prophets, and
apostles. Its simple form is well suited to such as
give small attention to worldly objects, and whose
thoughts are wholly engrossed by the cultivation
of virtue and truth. The boldness of its folds adds
an imposing grandeur to the venerable wearer they
agree with the profound research of the philosopher..
or the irresistible mission of the evangelist or
prophet. Of this class is the Greek pallium, worn
by philosophers: the women also had a garment of
this kind, made of a lighter cloth.
The military cloak of the Greeks and Romans was
fastened with a button on the right shoulder; it
reached little below the knees, and was not so full as
the pallium.
The tunic of the Romans was called chiton by the
Greeks: its form (as before observed) was like a
waggoner's frock, and reached the ankles; but when
the wearer prepared for labour, or a journey, he tied
on his girdle, drew the upper part of his tunic over
it, shortening it to the knee, and thus allowed free
motion to the legs.
'The tunic of the female reached the feet,* whether
girded or not, the material of which it was made
being more delicate than that worn by men. It
* See Plate XLIII.
ܐ
**
Drapery.
209
produced a display of folds diagonally arched down-
ward below the throat, and a variety of flowing
forms, of varied directions above the zone, according
to the quantity of material, the bend of the body or
the manner of adjusting the vestment. A prodigious
and beautiful variety in this part of the drapery may
be seen on the painted vases.
Sometimes we find small garments laid over the
tunic, not reaching to the zone, in female figures,
which add folds of a different direction to those in
the tunic. Sometimes the tunic is doubled over at
the top, and open at the side.* This, however, is
not simply a tunic; it was called diplos by the
Greeks, or a doubled tunic.
The peplos, or veil,† was an outward female
garment, like the cloak or pallium, but of a finer
texture, worn by Homer's female divinities and
heroines, and frequently seen on the statues. It is
this garment, of a transparent material, in which the
nymphs are clothed, as before observed.
This brief enumeration contains all those garments
which afford the most beautiful specimens in ancient
art. We will conclude with such general observa-
tions on clothing as seem most conducive to the
painter's and sculptor's views and researches.
Clothing, like other conveniences and requisites,
must be accommodated to the local situation and
habits of man. In hot climates little clothing is
required, and in cold countries the warmest skins
* See Plates XLV. XLVI.
† Plate XLVII.
P
210
Drapery.
and furs of animals are scarcely sufficient to enliven
the body with a genial warmth.
In the more barbarous states of society, plumes,
necklaces, and bracelets of bone and teeth, are dis-
played by chiefs and leaders in the pride of dis-
tinction. Their war dresses and cloaks are formed
of such stubborn materials, as serve the double
purpose of covering and of defensive armour.
As regular habits of industry succeed, the short
tunic is adopted as a dress convenient for the labours
of agriculture and manufacture. The cloak or
pallium, in this state of society, becomes a habit of
dignity to the priest* or magistrate, which will be
found generally prevalent, except in those warm
countries like India and Egypt, where a narrow
shawl or handkerchief supplies its place; and in the
colder regions, pantaloons, sometimes made of skins,
were worn on the lower limbs. This system of
clothing seems to have been nearly universal before
the Roman empire, and continued with little altera-
tion for twelve or thirteen centuries afterwards, if
we except the vagaries of fashion in Rome, Con-
stantinople, and a few other metropolitan cities. In
Rome, fashion was indeed active among the ladies
very early; for a short passage in one of the comedies
of Plautus "complains that a fashion does not last
a year," and enumerates about twenty-three articles
of female attire, all of which might perhaps be
comprehended under the heads of cloaks, hand-
* See Plate XL.
Drapery.
211
kerchiefs, and gowns: but their names and etymo-
logies have puzzled the commentators beyond the
possibility of explanation. But notwithstanding an
occasional instance of this kind occurs in courts and
vortexes of dissipation in the eighth century, the
western provinces universally wore the Roman mili-
tary cloak, and the eastern provinces generally the
pallium and tunic.*
Charlemagne and his successors, down to St. Louis,
are represented in the same dress in all the mosaics,
monumental statues, and illuminations of those
times.
The first deluge of various fashions came into
Europe with the Crusaders: the princes of the
West seem to have vied with each other in motley
importations from Constantinople, Antioch, and
Damascus.
In France and England before this time, the only
covering for the head, worn by men, was a cap like
that of Paris, and that of the Italian sailors; but.
after the Crusades, turbans, hats, and hoods of
different patterns became general.
The cloak and tunic were cut into different forms,
and ornamented with different baubles of tassels,
scallops, and toys, until no trace remained of the
original garments. To sum up the childish passion
for novel absurdity, the common playing cards re-
present the court dresses of France and England,
between the reigns of our Edward IV., Henry VIII,
* See Plate IV.
212
Drapery.
and Elizabeth. The kings, queens, and knaves,
have actually the state dresses of sovereigns and
courtiers at that time.
Perhaps this part of our subject may now be
supposed to have attained its climax, and that every
purpose of extravagance and absurdity was answered,
when the courtier's taste for elegance was exempli-
fied by a waistcoat half black and half yellow, a red
stocking on one leg, and a green one on the other ;-
when a great prince's hall of audience was filled
with the figures of mountebanks, harlequins, and
playhouse imps: but the tale is not yet told, nor is
the measure full. To what was monstrous and dis-
gusting to look on, was added, studied incon-
venience. Ruffs so large the head could scarcely
turn in them, the middle of the figure rendered so
bulky as to be contained by no arm-chair, and the
waistcoats so stiff, pointed, and narrow, that they
must have impeded digestion, and restrained the
functions of life.
Shall we not be induced to inquire, to what causes
could be attributed such an accumulation of absurdi-
ties? we may perhaps account for them in the spirit
of the times, -the wars, and their military dis-
tinctions the alternate dissipations, and particularly
masquerades and above all, those military and
party dissensions those extensive and violent
theological and political contests, which ferment the
general mass beyond the control of reason, humanity,
and common sense.
an
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Drapery.
213
These instances of useless variety and absurdity
in dress will naturally lead to the reflection that
there is a reasonable propriety in dress, as in all
other concerns, and that this propriety will be
governed by climate and character; light draperies
being agreeable in summer, warmer and thicker in
winter; graceful and gay attire becomes the
youthful, more grave is proper for the aged. The
magistrate bears such distinctions as denote his rank
and dignity in society. But in these and all other
cases, the drapery will be more becoming and
expressive, as it harmonizes with the proportions,
sympathizes with the character, and is consistent
with the requisites of the wearer. Any offences
against these rules will naturally produce dis-
satisfaction and contempt; for mere dress cannot
make the old young, the ugly handsome, or the
mean dignified.
The only difference must be confined to a transient
glance, for real qualities are inherent in the man,
and depend not upon outward accidents.
We may conceive the effect of dress and appear-
ance, on the judicious spectator's mind, from a
comparison of the following characters.
The lower Emperors of the East retained their
inordinate love of magnificence after their power was
broken; and their state dress was apparently covered
with jewels, even when their poverty obliged them
to eke out the splendid mass with false pearls and
paste these were attached to a scanty, ungraceful
211
Drapery.
mantle, which, being closed round the figure, pre-
sented the insipid resemblance of an Egyptian
mummy incrusted with gems. How different from
the prophets of Michael Angelo, the apostles of
Raffaelle and Albert Durer,* or those of Henry the
Seventh's Chapel!† Their countenances are deter-
mined by their divine commission; and the patri-
archal simplicity and grandeur of their persons bear
testimony to their sacred character.
Michael Angelo's Patriarch sleeps!-but when he
wakes, we are assured he will declare a prophecy or
holy vision, received from his attendant angel.
* Plate XLI.
† See Plates VII. VIII.
215
LECTURE IX.
ANCIENT ART.
WHEN we look at any portion of the natural land-
scape, if the objects are few, a rock, a plain, or a
tower, they are understood at once, and without
effort; but if they are numerous and complicated,
they must be considered attentively, to distinguish
woods from mountains, the form and extent of
buildings or cities, the winding of rivers, and the
expanse of the sea or sky, in order that we may
understand the several parts of the view; and it is
thus we must conduct our inquiries in art and
science: beginning by a search for their natural
principles, we must make ourselves acquainted with
their relations to, and dependence upon, other
branches of knowledge, and we should assure our-
selves of their purposes and ends. To render our
present inquiries the more effectual, and to obtain
all the advantages experience can afford, we must
avail ourselves of the studies and practice of the
most celebrated artists, in such a compendious view
216
Ancient Art.
of ancient and modern sculpture as may be expected
in the compass of these lectures.
Time would be lost for the purposes of our insti-
tution, were we to seek out an accurate history of
the early steps by which the march of art was
directed in its first and most barbarous efforts.
Those who desire information on this subject will be
abundantly supplied by Pliny's 'Natural History,'
Pausanias's 'Tour of Greece,' and Winckelman's
History of Art.' But the great object of every
student must be, to copy nature most perfectly, and
for this purpose to possess himself of unerring rules
for the government of his practice. The most likely
way to obtain these advantages will not be to con-
sider sculpture by attention to dates and trifling
incidents, but rather to divide its history into ages or
periods, each characterized by styles of art expressive
of its advancement.
C
The arts of design have their origin in the dis-
position to imitate, which guides us in our earliest
attainments, and assists us in the most perfect of our
finished works. The attempt to imitate he human
figure is found in all countries, even the most bar-
barous, and according to the barbarity of the people
such is the grossness, the disproportion, and the
feebleness of the imitation. Such is the sculpture of
the ancient Germans, the Tartars, Mexicans, and the
people of the South Seas.
The Egyptian sculpture was more perfect than
that of any other ancient nation before the Greeks,
Ancient Art.
217
because they were assisted in execution by princi-
ples of science* not possessed by any other people
until a much later period; they had made some pro-
gress in geometry, proportions, and in the structure
of the human figure.
Some very early remains of Grecian sculpture †
resemble the Egyptian so strongly, that we cannot
resist the testimony of those writers which inform us
they received sculpture from that people.
This at least is certain, that the sculpture of Greece.
was equally rude with that of their barbarous neigh-
bours, until they had excelled them in the advance-
ment of knowledge, the improvement of science, and
the establishment of political institutions.
We may distinguish the ancient art of Greece as
three ages :—the heroic age, the philosophic age, and
the age of maturity or perfection.
By the heroic age we understand the state of
society described in the poems of Homer and Hesiod,
in which the land was cultivated, and cattle fed to
supply the wants of life; but whose most important
business was predatory war. To this age we may
refer the earliest productions of Grecian art-of this
age are two lions † over the gate of Mycene-of this
age, from a similarity of style, we may also believe
many small bronze and stone statues to have been
the production.‡ Perhaps, though rude and ill-
formed, they were domestic divinities: early in the
progress of idolatry, so far as we may venture an
* Denon's Egypt.
+ See Plate XIV. See Plate XVI.
218
Ancient Art.
opinion upon this class of art, the endeavour was
limited to the single figure, naked, and in few and
simple attitudes. It is nevertheless likely, before.
this age passed away, the artists became more bold,
and adorned their earthen vases with subjects of
three or four figures, such as frequently occurred
in their habits of life, a conversation, a battle, or a
procession: the designs of these compositions appear
like profiles of their statues, and unconnected with
each other; scarcely more than the labour of their
hands, in which the superintendence of the mind
was little concerned, the first rude attempts at imi-
Cation.
The second "age of art," which we shall deno-
minate the philosophic, commenced when the seven
sages or wise men flourished in Greece, about 700
years before the Christian era; when the mental
faculties were expanded, and when, by contemplation
and science, man was elevated from savage life to
the dignity of a rational creature. In this period
Solon and Lycurgus reformed the laws of preceding
legislators, and rendered the system more salutary
in the correction of crime, and the security of justice
to their fellow-citizens.
The seven sages, by the example of their own
heroism and virtue, enforced the moral and political
order which their wisdom and prudence taught.
In the school of Pythagoras, mathematics, astro-
nomy, geometry, arithmetic, and music, were dili-
gently cultivated; the structure of animals was
Ancient Art.
219
studied, and the contemplations of philosophy ele-
vated the mind above the grosser allurements of
sense: the improvement of civil and political secu-
rity afforded additional leisure for all ingenious and
liberal pursuits, while the advancement of science
supplied means for nearer approaches towards per-
fection.
In the institutions of Greece, the five gymnastic
exercises of boxing, running, wrestling, leaping, and
throwing the spear, at the same time that they in-
creased the strength and agility, exhibited all the
various beauty of the human figure, diversified by all
the difference of motion the several exertions could
produce, with the multiplicity of anatomical changes
in action and remission occasioned by each exertion
of body and limbs.
It cannot be denied that the religion of ancient
Greece was gross polytheism; but this was the re-
ligion of the multitude-that of the philosopher was
much more pure. It allowed, indeed, the ministry
of subordinate divinities, angels, and heroic souls,
but all directed by the unerring wisdom and provi-
dence of the one Omnipotent. The graces and per-
fections of these celestial intelligences and ministers
are so described in the 'Dialogues' of Plato, and by
the Pythagoreans, as to lead the artist to the choice
of supreme natural beauty for the object of his imi-
tation throughout the numerous ideal orders of the
Grecian theology, and elevated the real persons by
the noblest traits of limb, feature, and character.
220
Ancient Art.
The first essays of Grecian art, in the heroic age,
prove they were neither stronger nor swifter in the
race than other nations; but the improved imitation
of nature, founded on the sure principles of science,
left their competitors at a distance not to be re-
covered; and the ability and zeal with which they
pursued their advantage, gave them possession of the
palm beyond dispute.
The Greeks, in this age, added the cultivation of
letters to their discoveries in science and improve-
ment of philosophy. Hipparchus is said to have first
made the Athenians acquainted with Homer's Rhap-
sodies (and from which that people received their
system of theology): these were recited in the Pana-
thenaic solemnities, and became so popular that they
were continually quoted in the Dialogues of Plato,
and by succeeding writers.
The poems of Hesiod, Sappho, Anacreon, and
Simonides, are also believed to have been collected
in a public library at Athens in this time.
Thus was infant art inspired by the spirit of poetry,
and the effects of this inspiration are seen in the
councils of the gods in the friezes of the Parthenon,
and the Temple of Theseus,* besides innumerable
Homeric subjects on the painted vases and Greek
basso-relievos of after ages.
Geometry enabled the artist scientifically to ascer-
tain forms for the configuration of bodies to deter-
mine the motion of the figure, in leaping, running,
British Museum,
Ancient Art.
221
striking, or falling-by curves and angles, whilst
arithmetic gave the multiplication of measures in
proportions. The anatomical observations of Thales,
Pythagoras, and Alcmeon, prepared the way for the
more connected inquiries of Hippocrates. Thus by
the gradual advancement and connection of art and
science, painting and sculpture obtained sound prin-
ciples to insure a certain and felicitous practice,
which introduced the age of perfection or consum-
mation in the time of Pericles and Phidias.
This third age of art may be said to have been
called into practice by the destruction of those
enormous fleets and armies prepared by the Persians
to annihilate Grecian freedom.
This illustrious achievement, performed by a com-
paratively small band of patriots, increased the
estimation of Greece, and especially of Athens, in pro-
portion to the terrific power of the vanquished, and
the glory of delivering their country from a foreign
yoke. These successes in war stimulated their exer-
tions in peace-they rebuilt the temples destroyed
in the war, with increased magnificence-their
pediments and friezes were decorated with synods
of gods and heroes, from their history, both real
and mythological. They raised sacred statues,
which for their colossal size, richness of materials,
and embellishment, future ages ranked as wonders of
the world. Nor were the statues of smaller dimen-
sions less deserving attention for exquisite beauty of
feature, form, proportions, character, dignity, sim-
222
Ancient Art.
plicity, and elegance. Their groups possess the
united interests of action and passion, sentiment
elevated and heroic, consistent with the persons en-
gaged.
The basso-relievos are epic and dramatic com-
positions, containing great variety in the subjects,
combination and diversity of lines, with whatever,
in the distribution and opposition of light and
shadow, produces the most powerful and agreeable
effect in the relief of figures from a back-ground, or
that department of sculpture the most nearly allied
to painting.
But as our subject becomes more extensive in its
progress, it will be rendered more simple by consider-
ing each class of sculpture separately, under the fol-
lowing heads:-
3.
1. Colossal statues. 2. Smaller statues.
Groups. 4. Basso-relievos and the Grecian schools
of sculpture.
The largest colossal statues of the Egyptians were
seventy-five feet in height, and therefore the Greeks
excelled them in the magnitude as well as the beauty
of those enormous monuments.
Many colossal statues are enumerated by the
classical authors (particularly Pliny and Pausanias),
which have long since ceased to exist, and of which
any memorials beyond their names are unknown at
present. It is, notwithstanding, not only possible,
but even probable, that antiquarian industry may
still recover recollections of them from gems
Ancient Art.
223
reverses of coins, and small bronze statues, in which
the celebrated works of antiquity were so frequently
copied. But as the mere repetition of names and
measurement would afford information of little use
either to the painter or sculptor, to avoid the misap-
plication of time in uncertain conjecture, we will
direct our attention to the three most celebrated of
these works, the most copiously described by
authors, and illustrated by ancient copies of smaller
size.
The statue of Olympian Jupiter,* sixty feet in
height, was the most renowned work of ancient
sculpture, not for stupendous magnitude alone, but
more for awful majesty and sublime beauty: it was
adorned with all the charms poetic vision could
bestow, embodied by labours which have been the
wonder, and the school, of all succeeding ages. It is
thus described by Pausanias, who saw it in meridian
splendour :-
"The god sat on a throne of ivory and gold, his
head crowned with a branch of olive-his left hand
presented a Victory of ivory and gold, with a crown
and fillet; his right hand held a sceptre beautifully
distinguished by all the different metals, on which
an eagle sat; the sandals of the god were gold, so
was his drapery, on which were various animals,
with flowers of all kinds, especially lilies; his
throne was refulgent with gold and precious stones.
There were also statues-four Victories alighting,
* See Plate XX.
224
Ancient Art.
were annexed to the feet of the throne, those in
front rested each on a sphinx that had seized a
Theban youth-below the sphinxes the children of
Niobe were slain by the arrows of Apollo and
Diana."
After mentioning some statues of victors in the
Olympic exercises, standing on the foot of the
throne, Pausanias also describes the pictures (by
Panæneus, brother of Phidias) which were on the
sides of the seat. Among these were
"Atlas sup-
porting heaven and earth, Hercules. near him,
about to relieve him from his burthen; Theseus and
Pirithous; and the figures representing Greece and
Salamis, the latter bearing the rostra of a ship in her
hands; the combat of Hercules with the Nemean
lion; Ajax and Cassandra; Hippodamia, the
daughter of Enomaus, with her mother; Prometheus
chained, and Hercules preparing to kill the eagle
which prayed on him. The last of the pictures are
Penthesilea dying, supported by Achilles, and Hes-
perian nymphs bearing fruit." On the recess for the
throne, above the head of the statue, are the three
Graces on one side, and on the other the three
Hours, or Seasons. On the base of the statue are
golden lions, with the battle of Theseus and the
Amazons. On the sub-plinth, which supports the
whole are emblems in gold. The Sun, Jupiter, and
Juno ascend in a car. Near them is Chares, whom
Mercury embraces, and Vesta, Mercury, and Love
receive Venus rising from the sea, to whom Persua-
Ancient Art.
225
sion brings a crown. Apollo, Diana, Minerva, and
Hercules are present. On the lowest part are Nep-
tune and Amphitrite, with the Moon exciting her
horses to the race. This great work, which raised
the fame of Phidias above all the sculptors of an-
tiquity, has numerous imitations still existing in
marble and bronze, and on coins of Alexander the
Great and his successors, also on the Emperor Domi-
tian's medals in large brass.
In the Acropolis of Athens * was a Minerva by the
same sculptor, twenty-six cubits high, also formed of
ivory and gold. In the right hand was a Victory,
four cubits high; the left hand rested on her shield.
The goddess was clothed in a tunic reaching to her
feet; her helmet was adorned with horses and gry-
phons; on the round side of the shield was the fight
with the Amazons; on the concave side, the battle of
the Gods and Giants; on her sandals, the contest of
the Lapitha and Centaurs; on the base was the birth
of Pandora in the presence of thirty divinities.
Memorials of this statue are preserved on Athenian
coins, of which there are engravings in the vignettes
of Stuart's Athens.'
The Colossus of the Sun,† in the Island of Rhodes,
is allowed by Pliny the Elder to have excited more
astonishment than all the other colossal statues he
has mentioned, on account of its height, which was
105 feet it was made by Chares, a Lindian, the
disciple of Lysippus. The statue was thrown dowu
:
* See Plate XIX.
† See Plate XLVIII.
Q
226
Ancient Art.
by an earthquake, after standing fifty-six years.
When lying on the ground this work appeared
miraculous. Few were able to embrace the thumb,
and the fingers were larger than many statues. Vast
caverns yawned in the broken limbs, and within
were seen great masses of stone, by whose weight it
was supported. Twelve years were employed in the
execution of it, and the cost 300 talents, about
£60,000 English. The same author observes, there
were, in the same city, an hundred lesser colossal
figures, each of which did honour to the place where
it stood; besides five colossal statues of divinities by
the sculptor Bryaxis.
Heads of the celebrated Colossus are repeatedly
seen on the bronze coins of Rhodes, and small figures,
with radiated heads, are sometimes found on the
coins of this island, which possibly were intended to
represent the whole figure.
The most numerous class of ancient statues was
about the height of nature, or approaching to seven
feet, which has been distinguished as the heroic
size.
Statues were anciently appropriated to divinities.
Portraits of men were not executed unless for some
illustrious cause which deserved perpetuity.
First were the victorious contests in the sacred
games, chiefly those of Olympia, where the custom
was for all the conquerors to dedicate their statues,
and those who were thrice victors had exact por-
traits of their persons. It was thought the Athe-
Ancient Art.
227
،،
nians first placed statues to Harmodius and Aris-
togiton, the Tyrannicides, the same year the kings
were expelled from Rome. This," says Pliny,
"was afterwards universal; and now the forum of
every municipal town begins to be ornamented with
statues to prolong the memory of men, and to have
the honours of the age inscribed on their bases, lest
they should be read only on their sepulchres. In
the course of time this has been done abroad, in
public courts and private houses. Thus clients have
determined to celebrate their patrons.
""
After the custom was adopted of bestowing this
honour on distinguished merit, every battle increased
heroic memorials; the porticoes, libraries, museums,
and walks were filled with the statues of legislators,
poets, philosophers, and all whose public spirit or
rare qualities had raised them to general notice and
esteem.
The practice so universal in Greece passed with
the conquerors into their colonies; and the successors
of Alexander the Great added to the sacred sculp-
ture of Egypt and Syria the memorials of Grecian
valour and wisdom. The same practice was fol-
lowed in Sicily, Magna Græcia, Naples, the principal
cities on the coast of Italy, the Etruscan states, and
wherever their colonies or commerce gave them
intercourse. The remains of sculpture found in all
these countries frequently bear this indisputable
testimony of Grecian origin-that they are stamped
with the beauty, grace, purity, and perfection which
228
Ancient Art.
are to be found in the works of that country alone, of
all nations in the ancient world.
This increase of sculpture, extending over so con-
siderable a portion of the globe known to the an-
cients, will account for the number of statues brought
to Rome after the conquest of Greece.
Marcus Scaurus, when Ædile, decorated his tem-
porary theatre with three thousand statues. Two
thousand were taken from the Volscians. Mum-
mius, after the conquest of Achaia, is said to have
filled the city. Lucullus brought many. Three
thousand came from Rhodes-not fewer from Athens
or Olympia-more are believed to have come from
Delphi; "but," says our author, "what mortal can
follow them? or what is the use of knowing?”
It will be sufficient for our present purpose to
comprehend in two sentences what remains of this
part of our subject: after the terrific repetition of those
conflagrations which destroyed the noblest monu-
ments in Rome, it was said that the city contained
more gods than men !
The equestrian and pedestrian statues, trophies
and triumphal arches, which adorned the Roman
forum, and the forum of Trajan-the innumerable
sculptures in the imperial palace-in the baths of
Dioclesian and Caracalla-the Mausoleum of Au-
gustus, and that of Hadrian-the files of patriots
and heroes which lined the Flaminian way-were
objects to fill the imagination, and occupy the mind.
But neither the multitude of them nor their mag-
Ancient Art.
229
nificence will produce any great impression on the
painter or sculptor. He will keenly search out the
rare specimens of excellence from among the hun-
dreds of ordinary beauty; upon these he will fix his
attention, and from these he will deduce his prin-
ciples.
We shall now return to our more immediate
object, the pursuit and study of excellence, by
noticing some of the noblest examples which the
ravages of time, and the destructive hand of bar-
barism have spared.
Besides the works of Phidias already mentioned,
duplicates of smaller statues by him have come
down to us: the Amazon called Euknemon,"
from her fine leg, of which there is a print in the
Museum Pium Clementinum,' in the library of our
Royal Academy. Two Minervas are mentioned by
Pliny, one of which had the surname of Calli-
morphes, expressive of her finem. Perhaps this
might be similar to the statue of th dess in Mr.
Hope's Gallery, as it strongly resembles a Minerva
on an Athenian coin among the vignettes in Stuart's
'Athens.'
،،
Perhaps, in this place, a remark may be offered,
without impropriety, concerning the group of a hero
governing a horse, which stands opposite the Papal
palace, on Monte Cavallo, in Rome. This group is
said to stand nearly on the same spot it occupied
(with its companion) when they guarded the en-
trance to the baths of Constantine. "The work of
230
Ancient Art.
Phidias" was inscribed on the pedestal, as we may
see at the present time. In illustration of this
group, three Roman coins may be adduced, one
struck in the reign of Nero, another under Hadrian,
and a third by Commodus, all bearing this group on
the reverse, representing Bellerophon about to
mount Pegasus, for the purpose of destroying the
Chimæra. These coins were struck in the city of
Corinth, where Bellerophon was much honoured.
The attitude of the hero, as well as that of the horse,
resembles a bas-relief on the Parthenon; and for that
reason, in addition to the style and spirit of the work,
is likely to have been executed under the direction of
Phidias.
Alcamenes,* the scholar of Phidias, was celebrated
for his Venus (Aphrodite). Many small statues of
bronze and marble represent the goddess pressing the
water from her hair, and by their elegance are pro-
bably copies from that statue.
Praxiteles excelled in the highest graces of
youth and ideal beauty. His Venus of Cnidos,†
which is said to be more perfect than any other,
is known from the descriptions of Lucian and
Cedrenus. It is on the reverse of a bronze medal
of Caracalla and Plautilla, in the king of France's
cabinet.
The drawing introduced in this Lecture was from
a statue said to have been found in a vineyard, about
thirty years since, in Rome, and was the property of
† See Plate XXII.
*See Plate XXI.
Ancient Art.
231
Duke Braschi, nephew of Pius the Sixth. Sketches
from it were made at that time.*
Among the celebrated statues by Praxiteles, of
which copies have come down to us, are his Satyr,
his Capid bending his bow, and Apollo the lizard-
killer. Casts are in this academy, for which we are
indebted to the munificence of his present majesty
George the Fourth; to which may be added Bacchus
leaning on a faun, although this latter properly be-
longs to the class of groups.
Polycletus of Sicyon, the scholar of Ageladas, was
celebrated for his statue of Diadumenus, a youth
binding a fillet round his head, of which copies are
seen occasionally on bas-reliefs. It was valued by
the ancients at 100 talents, rather more than
£18,000 English money. His Doryphorus, or spear-
bearer, from which sculptors copied the rules of art,
is known to us only from Pliny's description.
The Discobolus by Naucydes is universally admired
for the heroic form and retreating motion preparatory
to the force and weight of the person requisite to pro-
ject the disk.
The Discobolust by Myron is ascertained by an
antique gem, and the description of Quintilian, who
apologizes for its forced attitude, (perhaps that of
some particular man distinguished in this game).
There is an ancient example of this statue in the
British Museum.
* A full account of this statue has already been given in the
Lecture on Grecian Sculpture.
+ See Plate XXIV.
232
Ancient Art.
A wounded man, the famous work of Ctesilaus, is
perhaps the same as that called the "Dying Gladia-
tor," but more properly a herald or hero.
Prints of the wounded Amazon of Ctesilaus are
not uncommon in the volumes of antique statues.
I'liny mentions the Nine Muses of Philiscus of
Rhodes, and the Muses brought by Fulvius Nobilior
to Rome. From one or both of these series, the
Muses in the Vatican were probably obtained, as
they appear to be the work of different hands. Casts
from them are in the Council-room. The Comedy is
remarkable for juvenile grace of person, and elegance.
of drapery. The Tragedy for solemnity and heroic
grandeur.
The Apollo Philesius, by Canachus, has many repe-
titions.
Ganymede borne in the eagle's talons is exactly
described by Pliny. A print of it may be seen in
the Museum Pium Clementinum.'
The Apollo Belvidere is believed by the learned
Visconti to be the Deliverer from Evil, the work of
Calamis, set up in Athens in memory of a plague
which raged in that city.
Sublime in his beauty, and terrible in his anger,
it has been considered as the Phoebus Apollo of
Homer, destroying the Greeks. It has also been
looked upon as a variation from a statue by Phidias.
The Hercules Farnese was evidently one of the
first favourites of antiquity, from its frequent repe-
tition in bronze and marble, on gems and coins. It
Ancient Art.
233
is worthy of remark, that some statues of Hercules,
in the same attitude of repose with that surnamed
Farnese, but of much earlier date, have the propor-
tions of comnon men, and that a series of them may
be found in the various collections, gradually in-
creasing to the terrific strength of Glycon's statue.
The head of this formidable hero bears a noble
resemblance to his father Jupiter. The anatomical
detail in the body and limbs is more distinct than in
any other work of antiquity.
The Ancient Groups next claim attention.
Laocoon and his sons is a work composed in a
noble concatenation of lines, in the three principal
views. The children's appeal to the father, and the
father's to the gods, are highly pathetic. The con-
vulsed rise of the youngest from the ground is the
most electric circumstance in the whole sentiment.
It was the work of Apollodorous, Athenadorus, and
Agesander, of Rhodes.
Zethus and Amphion tying Dirce to the bull's
horns-an example of filial vengeance in behalf of a
persecuted mother. The conception is heroic, and
the execution vast. The marble is at Naples, but,
like many other noble works, it has been miserably
restored.
Hercules raising Antæus in his arms is in the Pitti
Palace, Florence.
The group of Atreus bearing a dead son of
Thyestes, Orestes and Electra, Ajax supporting the
dead Patroolus, and that of Hæmon and Antigone,
231
Ancient Art.
are all examples of fine form, heroic character, and
sentiment.
Niobe and her youngest daughter, by Scopas, is
an example of heroic beauty in mature age. The
sentiment is maternal affection. She exposes her
own life to shield her child from the threatened
destruction. The statues of the several children all
possess the same heroic beauty, mixed with astonish-
ment, terror, dismay, and death. That fine example
of anatomical study, of a difficult but harmonious
composition, the Group of Wrestlers, was found in
the same excavation with, and has been supposed to
belong to, the family of Nicbe.
The group of Cupid and Psyche, interesting from
the beauty of youthful male and female forms and
harmony of lines, is an allegory of the Pythagorean
philosophy, representing the union of desire and the
soul.
We may now take some notice of the antique bas-
relievos, particularly those in the British Museum.
The metopes which formerly adorned the Parthenon
of Athens, which contain the combats of the Lapithæ
and Centaurs, are distinguished by simplicity and
heroic exertion. Some casts from them are placed in
the model academy. The procession of chariots,
horsemen, maidens bearing sacred baskets and can-
delabræ, animals for sacrifice, and sacred instructors
in the Celebration of Minerva and the Assembly of
the Gods, are admired by all for simplicity of com-
position, breadth of general effect, the elegance and
Ancient Art.
235
delicacy of the heads and draperies, and the life and
spirit of the horses.
The casts (in the same collection) from the temple
of Theseus. The metopes represent his heroic deeds,
and the frieze within the temple councils of the
gods. The style of these is more like the metopes on
the Parthenon than the broad masses in the proces-
sion within that temple.
The whole of the sculpture in the temple of
Theseus is bold, varied, and full of action. The
fragments of statues and groups which were in the
pediment of the Parthenon are executed with great
effect; but, as all the Athenian marbles in the
Museum have been seen and universally admired,
additional description would be useless.
The contention for the body of Patroclus, in the
pediment of the temple of Jupiter Panhellenius at
Egina, is a fine composition, of which there is a
beautiful etching by Mr. Cockerell, who assisted in
restoring this specimen of ancient art to the world.
The battle of the Amazons and Athenians, from
the temple of Apollo Epicouros, is also in the British
Museum.
Those already named are among the ancient
works of chief excellence, and most worthy of the
student's contemplation and imitation in basso-
relievo.
Others, however, may be mentioned, of great
beauty, the study of which will be highly important
in the progress of the student. Of this number are
236
Ancient Art.
the beautiful compositions of Perseus and Andro-
meda, and the Endymion, casts of which are in the
Royal Academy; to these may be added the basso-
relievos on the Trajan column-on the arches of
Constantine and Marcus Aurelius-and, above all,
the ancient sarcophagi, which present a magnificent
collection of compositions from the great poets of
antiquity, Homer, Hesiod, Eschylus, Euripides, and
Sophocles-the systems of ancient philosophy, with
Greek mysteries, initiations, and mythology. The
study of these will give the young artist the true
principles of composition, with effect, and without
confusion, to produce the chief interest of his subject
by grand lines of figures, without the intrusion of
useless, impertinent, or trivial objects. By carefully
observing them he will accustom himself to a noble
habit of thinking, and consequently choose what-
ever is beautiful, elegant, and grand, rejecting all
that is mean and vulgar: by thus imbibing an electric
spark of the poetic fire, he will learn to choose fit
subjects for the employment of his talents, and to
convert the beauty and grace of ancient poetry and
genius to the service of the morals and institutions of
our own time and country.
In the comparatively few antique statues, groups,
and basso-relievos here mentioned, the attention has
been called only to such as have been esteemed the
most, by the united consent of ancients and moderns;
the rest, which are very numerous, must be sought
for in the various collections of antiouities, Mont-
Ancient Art.
237
faucon, the 'Museum Pium Clementinum,' 'Museum
Romanum,' Florentinum,'' Giustiniani,'' Borghese,'
and many other works of the same kind, most of
which are in the library of our academy.
The principal schools of sculpture appear to have
been Athens and Rhodes: in the first the school of
Phidias was established; and we learn from Pliny
that his emulators were Alcamenes, Critias, and
Nestocles, and, twenty years after, Agelades, Callon,
Polycletus, Phragmon, Gorgias, Lacon, Myron,
Pythagoras, Scopas, and Perillus. This catalogue,
we may reasonably believe, contains the sculptors
whose labours adorned the temple of Theseus and
the Parthenon; and from them also the successive
pupils descended, whose works embellished the
Roman empire, until the northern irruptions spread
universal destruction in the west, and the Saracens
and Turks conquered and wasted the eastern pro-
vinces.
,,
The other school of sculpture, namely, Rhodes, is
likely to have sprung from that of Athens. We have
already observed that the Roman conquerors took
3000 statues from thence. To this school of Rhodes
we owe the two noble groups, the Laocoon, and
Zethus and Amphion, both mentioned by Pliny with
extraordinary praise.
The sculptors of Sicyon and Ægina appear to have
been chiefly employed on works of bronze, although
Corinth, Delos, and other cities, have a just claim to
reputation on the same account.
238
Ancient Art.
To this general view of ancient sculpture, a few
remarks may be added concerning the practical ad-
vantage it may afford-by guarding against error and
false systems, so frequently ruinous impediments in
the path of talent and industry, by which the inex-
perienced mind is first entangled in doubt, and ulti-
mately turned from the course it had taken, without
any sure guide to the desired object.
It is a sound maxim, that "the same cause will
always produce the same effect;" therefore, if we
would attain excellence in art, we cannot proceed by
a more certain course than that by which it has been
attained before.
The arts of Greece astonished and delighted the
world in their own times, and they have continued
to do so through the lapse of many ages; and now,
in their fragments and mutilations, demand the same
just homage from the beholder, and afford the same
example of excitement, admiration, and instruction
to the artist; and in this lecture has been shewn, not
according to chimerical notions, or mere supposition,
but according to the testimony of contemporary
authors, supported by the ancient works of art, the
progress of sculpture in Greece from the first rude
beginning common to all countries, by the various
gradations of improvement, until it arrived at that
perfection which has not been equalled in modern
times, except perhaps in some very few instances, and
never excelled.
In the former part of this discourse, we have seen
Ancient Art.
239
that the Greeks, in their uncivilized state, did not
excel their barbarous neighbours in the arts; that
religion gave the first impulse to sculpture; that
philosophic improvement furnished the artist with
rules; that legislation, by determination of moral
and civil rights, reduced society to a more settled
state, and thereby afforded a more tranquil leisure
for the cultivation of liberal studies; that the institu-
tion of gymnastic exercises exhibited the naked figure
in all views, actions, and motions for the study of the
artist; the anatomical school of Hippocrates, and the
more extended knowledge of that science in the
school of Alexandria, gave more exact details of
the parts of the human figure; and lastly, the dia-
logues of Plato on beauty, its origin, cause, and
effect, from the mind upon the body, completed the
general principles of information for the ancient
sculptor; and as it was a summary of the gradual
progress by which the excellence of Grecian art was
accumulated, so in its perfection it became the course
of study by which every individual artist rose to
eminence.
240
LECTURE X.
MODERN SCULPTURE.
THE preceding lecture contained a very general and
summary sketch of ancient sculpture, as introductory
to a similar review of modern sculpture. In that
lecture it was observed that no attempt would be
made to give a regular history of the art in its com-
mencement by the Egyptians, in all the particulars
of its progress and perfection by the Greeks-at what
point its course had been arrested among the Syrians,
Persians, and Babylonians-what portion of the
colonial arts of Greece, found in Sicily and Italy,
might be considered the undoubted property of the
mother-country, and in what respects they could be
claimed by the people to whom they were originally
exotics: all these topics are doubtless necessary to a
complete history of the arts of design, and all of
consequence to the antiquary. But in the number
of these topics we must, as artists, distinguish
between such as are requisite to history, and those
passages most important to us of the ancient authors
which supply profound maxims and principles in-
Modern Sculpture.
241
dispensable to a sound theory and successful practice
of the arts.
Whenever a more extensive knowledge is required,
application must be made to the various writers on
the subject, ancient and modern.
The first objects in this institution are the prin-
ciples of art, as must be evident in every branch of
the establishment; as a valuable library has been
formed, and lectures appointed for the communica-
tion of whatever in science and literature the artist
may find most useful; and he may try the rules he
acquires, by comparing his own studies with the
finest specimens of ancient sculpture, and the works
of the most esteemed painters of the fifteenth century,
or the great criterion of all art-nature-in the schools
of this institution.
It is subservient to this wise and liberal plan of
education that these Lectures have been conceived;
in which I have endeavoured to present a compre-
hensive view of the means by which ancient art
obtained its unrivalled excellence, and that by the
same means, and by application to the same studies,
modern art rose again to excellence in the fifteenth
century.
Thus the student of the present day has the most
satisfactory assurance that the ancient arts of Greece
were carried to perfection, and the modern arts of
Italy restored, by the same system of education es-
tablished in this institution; and we may with cer-
tainty predict that a race of painters and sculptors
R
242
Modern Sculpture.
will be produced by our Royal Academy whose
merits will secure the admiration of their own time,
and of future ages, as effectually as their great pre-
decessors have done; with this proviso, that on their
part they bring with them to the arts they intend to
practise, minds truly liberal, debased by no sordid
or unworthy motives,-a disposition so devoted that
any other employment would render life miserable,-.
a ready inclination to overcome all difficulties by inde-
fatigable labour,—and above all, a comprehensiveness
of mind, an acuteness of perception, and a soundness
of judgment capable of attaining the various acquire-
ments of science, literature, and the study of nature,
required in the profession. We shall now proceed
with the subject of Modern Art.
It is a fact known to all, that the successive irrup-
tions of barbarians into the provinces of the Roman
empire, both East and West, from the fifth to the
tenth century of the Christian era, spread universal
devastation, even to the rendering great tracts of
country desert, where an abundant population had
flourished in magnificent towns and cities.
In these dismal times, when the violence of fana-
ticism increased the horrors of barbarous invasion-
when the works of ancient genius in painting and
sculpture were buried under the ruins of temples,
forums, and palaces, which they had adorned to the
fifth century-there were accounts of the Olympian
Jupiter, and the Venus of Cnidos; but at that time
their history ends in the common destruction and
Modern Sculpture.
243
i
darkness of the times. The spirit of violence and
warfare did not cease, but was continued by the
feudal successors to the Roman provinces long after
the tenth century, with the same baneful influence,
unabated, upon arts, learning, and civilization. In
the city of Rome, the architectural monuments of
antiquity were converted into fortresses by the con-
tending barons; and in the beginning of the fifteenth
century, the city was so encumbered with ruined
buildings and lesser forts, that two horsemen could
scarcely pass abreast in any principal street or open
place. Wherever excavations have been made in
later times, to clear the basements of columns, arches,
or buildings, in the Roman Forum, the Forum of
Trajan, and other distinguished parts of the city, the
ancient pavement has been always found from ten to
sixteen feet lower than the present; and the whole of
the mass between, formed from the rubbish of ruined
structures, mixed with fragments of statues, basso-
relievos, capitals, columns, &c. We need but one
instance more, which is within the compass of our
own knowledge or inquiry, to demonstrate the
general ruin which accompanied the destruction of
the works of art during the barbarous irruptions in
the great cities of the Roman empire-the instance.
referred to was in our own country. In London,
several magnificent mosaic or tesselated pavements
and fragments of ancient art have been found,
covered by a mass of burnt rubbish, from ten to
twelve feet deep below the present pavement.
244
Modern Sculpture.
Similar instances have occurred in most of the cities
of England, proving the destructive progress of the
Saxons and Danes in our country not to have been
less furious than those of the Goths, Vandals, Huns,
and Lombards in Italy, or of the Saracens and Turks
in the East.
But from the vengeance of barbarians, stimulated
by prey, and provoked by oppression, we shall
willingly turn our view to the re-establishment of
social order, and the restoration of arts and letters.
After the entire destruction of the Roman power
in the West of Europe, Italy was divided into
republics and principalities, the chief of which,
Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, possessing the advantage
of extensive sea-coasts, were the first to enrich their
countries by commerce, and improve their know-
ledge by voyages. The Venetians, situated in the
neighbourhood of Greece, were induced to emulate
the Church of St. Sophia at Constantinople, in the
building and decoration of St. Mark's in their own
city. The plan of this church is a Greek cross, and
the mosaic pictures, from sacred history, which adorn
the interior, are from Greek paintings of the same
age. The present church was consecrated, A.D. 1085.
The republic of Pisa had a naval force so con-
siderable previous to this period, that they had
beaten the Saracens in Africa, Sardinia, Majorca,
Minorca, and Sicily, besides taking from them
immense treasure, with which they built the Cathe-
dral of Pisa, begun in 1063, finished 1092.
Modern Sculpture.
245
The building of these cathedrals was followed by
those of Verona, Modena, Pistoia, and several others
in Italy.
Schools of painting and sculpture, as well as
architecture, were formed and established in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries; and the distin-
guished talents produced in them were cherished
and employed in the cause of religion.
It will be found on a careful inquiry, that the
elements, as well as the perfection of the arts, have
always been received, either immediately or inter-
mediately, from the Greeks, by Western Europe,
although this has been denied by Vasari; and, as
far as concerns the Greek Christian paintings, does
not seem to have been even suspected by Winckel-
mann. To this part of our subject, therefore, a short
but satisfactory illustration is required.
The germ, or first beginning of modern art, is
not to be so absolutely reckoned from the commence-
ment of the eleventh century, when society began
to be settled in Europe, as from the reign of Con-
stantine, seven centuries earlier, when Christianity
became the established religion of the empire; then
it was that painting and sculpture ceased to be
employed on the pagan gods, and their powers
were engaged to adorn the churches built by
Christian emperors, with the persons and events
of sacred history. The portrait of our Saviour,*
with those of some of the Apostles, particularly
* Vide Arringhi's Roma Subterranea, Plate XLIX.
*
246
Modern Sculpture.
S. Peter and S. Paul, appear to have been known in
Galilee either during their life, or shortly after their
death.
The Emperior Tiberius was desirous of having
the Messiah admitted among the gods of the empire,
out was refused by the Senate. Alexander Severus
nad the statue of Jesus Christ among his household
gods.
Even during the reigns of those emperors, by
whom the Christians were cruelly persecuted, when
they were obliged to perform their sacred worship
in subterrains and sepulchral chambers, they orna-
mented those retreats with sacred portraits and
subjects from Scripture. But when the churches of
St. Sophia and the Apostles were built in Constan-
tinople by Constantine and his successors, they were
embellished with mosaics and statues.
Bosius, in his Roma Subterranea,' exhibits many
Christian sarcophagi sculptured with scriptural sub-
jects from the Old and New Testament in basso-
relievo.
C
Monier,* in his History of Painting, Sculpture
and Architecture, gives large quotations from the
Christian Fathers concerning the excellent paintings
of sacred subjects in the Eastern churches, from the
fourth to the eighth century, and the powerful effects
produced by them on the beholders. Indeed, there
are still remaining in the libraries of the Emperor
of Austria and King of France, Greek paintings
* Monier, page 60.
Modern Sculpture.
247
executed in the middle ages, of great beauty; but
above all the Greek painting and sculpture now
existing which particularly deserve notice, are the
Nativity,* the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, the
Resurrection, and the Glorification, because they
were the examples universally followed by the
Italian artists, until after Raffaelle and Michael
Angelo.
Andrea Tafi, a Florentine, contemporary with
Cimabue, studied under the Grecian artists in St.
*Mark's Church, Venice, while they were employed
in decorating the interior with the principal subjects
recorded in the Old and New Testaments.
Apollonius, a Grecian painter, returned from
Venice with Tafi, and assisted him in the mosaics
afterwards executed in St. John's Baptistery at
Florence. Cimabue was also instructed by Greek
artists. These facts being acknowledged by the
Italian writers, there remains no cause for surprise
that the Greek Christian compositions should assist
the restoration of painting, more than that their
paintings and basso-relievo should have supplied the
principles of ancient art.
The Cathedral of Pisa, built by Buschetto, an
architect from Dulichium, was the second sacred
edifice (St. Mark's in Venice being the first) raised
after the destruction of the Roman power in Italy.
It has received the honour of being allowed by
posterity to have taken the lead in restoring art:
* Plates XXXV. and YXXVI
248
Modern Sculpture.
and indeed the traveller, on entering the city gates,
is astonished by a scene of architectural magnificence
and singularity not to be equalled in the world.
Four stupendous structures of fine marble in one
group the solemn cathedral, in the general paral-
lelogram of its form resembling an ancient temple,'
which unites and simplifies the arched divisions of
its exterior; the Baptistery, a circular building,
surrounded with arches and columns, crowned with
niches, statues and pinnacles, rising to an apex in
the centre, terminated by a statue of the Baptist;—
the Falling Tower (which is thirteen feet out of the
perpendicular), a most elegant cylinder, raised by
eight rows of columns surmounting each other, and
surrounding a staircase;-the Cemetery, a long
square corridor of elegant pointed architecture, 400
by 200 feet, containing the ingenious works of the
improvers of painting, down to the sixteenth century.
This extraordinary scene in the evening of a summer's.
day, with a splendid red sun setting in the dark-blue
sky, the full moon rising on the opposite side over
a city nearly deserted, affects the beholder's mind
with such a sensation of magnificence, solitude, and
wonder, that he scarcely knows whether he is any
longer an inhabitant of this world or not.
To describe the numerous works of painting and
sculpture with which the restorers of art laboured
to adorn these magnificent edifices during 500 years
would require time equal to that allowed for the
* A Latin cross.
*
Modern Sculpture.
240
Lectures on Sculpture during one season.
Fortu-
nately for the student, fine prints from the paintings
in the Campo Santo, with outlines of the sarcophagi
in the same corridor, may be seen in the library of
the Royal Academy.
The general effect of this group of buildings
deserves to be dwelt on, for these two reasons in
particular, first, because noble ideas, finely executed,
cannot fail to produce an irresistible effect on the
mind; and, secondly, this assemblage of buildings
contains a more regular series of those labours by
which the restoration of art was effected, than is
to be found within the same compass in any other
place.
We shall now proceed to notice the restorers of
sculpture in Italy, with the same brevity as the first
improvers in Greece.
It is not unlikely that Buschetto, the Greek, who
built the Cathedral of Pisa in the eleventh century,
established the schools of architecture and sculpture
at the same time in that city (although we have no
historical proof of the fact), because we know it was
not unusual with those early artists to practise
painting, sculpture, and architecture at the same
time, and because there are rude statues on the
cathedral coeval with the building; and it is ac-
knowledged by the Pisan writers, that there were
sculptors in that city before Nicolas and his son
John, whose works became famous throughout Italy
in the middle of the thirteenth century. These
250
Modern Sculpture.
sculptors executed most magnificent marble pulpits,
enriched with basso-relievos and statues, in the
cathedrals of Pisa, Pistoia, and Sienna, also in the
Baptistery of Pisa: a series of sacred subjects from
the Old and New Testaments, by them and their
scholars, are seen on the west front of Orvieto
Cathedral. There are also by John Pisano some
elegant statues of the Virgin and Child. Nicolas
and John improved sculpture, by study of the an-
tique basso-relievos in the Campo Santo; in their
own works the compositions are simple and intelli-
gible; the female figures are frequently elegant in
their movements and their drapery. In them are
occasionally seen an originality of idea and a force
of thought seldom met with when schools of art are
in the habit of copying from each other.
Andrea Ugolino Pisano, from the school of these
sculptors, designed and executed in bronze the oldest
gate of the Baptistery in Florence, the compartments
of which represent the life of S. John. The compo-
sitions have a Gothic and simple grandeur. He also
executed some statues in marble, but they were
rather inferior to the productions of Nicolas and
John.
The next distinguished restorer of sculpture was
Donatello, the Florentine. Some of his works, both i
in bronze and marble, might be placed beside the
best productions of ancient Greece without discredit.
In the 'Opera del Duomo' of Santa Maria del Fiore,
the Cathedral of Florence, there is an alto-relievo of
Modern Sculpture.
251
two singing-boys of extraordinary beauty in senti-
ment, character, drawing, and drapery. In the
gallery of Florence there is a bronze statue of a lad
(perhaps a Mercury), so delicately proportioned, and
so perfectly natural, that it is excelled only by the
best works of antiquity, in certain exquisite graces
peculiar to the finest monuments in Greece, but not
to be attained or expected from the endeavours of
lately resurgent genius. His marble statue of St.
George, on the exterior of Or San Michael, is an
example of sentiment, simple and forcible; he stands
upright, equally poised on both legs, his hands
resting on his shield before him. Michael Angelo,
after admiring this statue some time in silence, sud-
denly exclaimed, "March!" His basso-relievos of
the life of Christ, on the pulpit of Saint Lorenzo's
Church, abound in noble conceptions, but they were
the works of his advanced age, and finished by his
scholars. He was a man of modesty and principle:
whatever work he engaged in, his chief concern was
to make it the most perfect possible. The contempo-
raries of this artist are not to be forgotten, although
perhaps, on the whole, inferior sculptors to him.
Brunelleschi executed a crucifix in wood, now in the
Church of Santa Maria Novella, which represents the
suffering Saviour, in a manner not to be looked on
with indifference. He afterwards engaged in archi-
tecture, and built the much-admired Church of Santa
Maria del Fiore.
Lorenzo Ghiberti, the other illustrious contempo-
252
Modern Sculpture.
rary of Donatello, has immortalized his memory by
the bronze gates of St. John's Baptistery, called "the
Gates of Paradise," from Michael Angelo's compli-
ment. This is a beautiful and laborious work. But
the criticism of Sir Joshua Reynolds was one indis-
putable proof of that great man's judgment in the
sister arts. His observation amounted to this, that
"Ghiberti's landscape and buildings occupied so
large a portion of the compartments, that the figures
remained but secondary objects, entirely contrary to
the principle of the ancients." Ghiberti, likewise,
made a statue in bronze of S. Matthew, on the ex-
terior of San Michele; but his talents were better
suited to the elegance and delicate finishing of
smaller works. His S. Matthew wants the severe
chastity of the apostolic character, and the head is
inferior to those in the spandrils of his gates; the
attitude also is affected and the drapery unnatural.
We may, without neglecting our great purpose
(the principles of art), pass over the intermediate
names between Donatello and Michael Angelo, as
having added little to the value of modern sculpture.
We now arrive at a great and venerable name,
without an equal in the three sister arts.
Michael Angelo, according to the testimony of
Vasari (his biographer and kinsman), was descended
from the Counts of Canossa, a Lombard family, pos-
sessed by conquest, and imperial gift, of Lombardy,
Tuscany, and Lucca, and allied by marriage to the
blood of Charlemagne.
Modern Sculpture.
253
Certainly, if superior genius, enlighter td by poetic
inspiration, regulated and purified by philosophy
and religion, can attest an illustrious descent, few
names are recorded in history whose pretensions are
better founded than his of whom we are speaking.
But it is also possible that a noble mind may be
compatible with an humbler descent, and we know
that the cultivation of mental powers, moral virtues
and knowledge, are the results of fortitude and per-
severance; and these were the qualities by which
Michael Angelo became the wonder and example of
his own and succeeding ages. His early attachment
to the arts at last overcame his father's prejudice
against a profession which he fancied disgraced the
nobility of his family, and he was placed under
Domenico Ghirlandaio, the best painter of his time.
He afterwards studied in the Museum of Ancient
Sculpture, formed by Lorenzo di Medici in the
garden of St. Mark, where Bertoldo the sculptor, a
disciple of Donatello, was employed by the magnifi-
cent founder of the school to instruct the pupils.
Here Michael Angelo's diligence and ability distin-
guished him above the other students, as they had
previously in Ghirlandaio's school of painting. As
Michael Angelo was patronized by Lorenzo, and ate
at his table, he became acquainted with Politian and
Marsilius Ficinus, and with such of the learned
Greeks as had sought refuge in Italy previous to the
taking of Constantinople by the Turks. From the
society and conversation of these distinguished philo-
254
Modern Sculpture.
?
sophers and scholars, he could not fail to obtain
a general clue to the connection between ancient
literature and the arts, and a knowledge of the
passages in Vitruvius relating to proportions, geo-
metry, and perspective, together with portions from
those ancient physicians who had revived the study
of anatomy. Because conversations of these kinds
were usual only at the table of Lorenzo; and as one
of his darling endeavours was to raise a great school
of art in Florence, his friends and visitors would
naturally pay their court to him, by communications
of whatever was likely to forward his patriotic
wishes on this subject.
Michael Angelo commenced his career by various
works of sculpture, a sleeping Cupid, a Bacchus and
young Faun, the colossal David, and a group of
Pietée, or a sitting Madonna bearing the dead Christ
on her knees, which raised his fame above all his
modern predecessors in the art. Fortunately, how-
ever, this success did not wholly overcome his love
for painting, of which there is a most beautiful ex-
ample in the Florentine gallery of a Holy Family,
with a number of small figures in the background
representing S. John baptizing the multitudes in the
River Jordan.
Thus had the ceaseless study and unwearied
labours of Buonarotti raised him so high in public
estimation, that he was appointed to paint a portion
of the great hall in Florence, on which Leonardi da
Vinci was already employed; and it is to a compe-
Modern Sculpture.
255
tition of such talent as but rarely occurs in the
history of the world, that we are indebted for that
surprising composition, the Battle of the Standard,
which Rubens imitated in four admirable hunting
scenes; and it is most likely that it is to the lesson
Michael Angelo received from this design that he
was more particularly led to that study of com-
plicated grouping in which his "Last Judgment" is
unrivalled.
Though this great man was afterwards employed
on works of sculpture, imposing and admirable from
their originality and power, yet his noblest produc
tions are in colours.
The "Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel," and the "Last
Judgment," taken together as two portions of one
whole, are unparalleled in the history of art, ancient
or modern, in the vastness of the idea-the grandeur
of the subject, comprehending the entire scheme of
divine revelation-the dignity of the characters,
among which, our reason is convinced, are those
which cannot be represented. Nevertheless, if the
whole is considered with the great elevation of mind
which accompanies the observation of visible objects,
each part is so harmoniously sublime and extra-
ordinary, that the beholder believes he is admitted
to a vision of "Light separated from Darkness," the
"Benediction of the Waters," and the "Creation of
the Human Race."
The groups of patriarchal families, which border
the composition of the ceiling are choice selections.
256
Modern Sculpture.
of piety and love, in sentiments and forms unknown
to the ancients, and unattempted by the moderns
before his time; the naked figures are new and
admirable—the prophets, sibyls, and the four corners
of the ceiling, taken separately, will afford matter for
contemplation and study not to be found in whole
galleries by other masters.
The "Last Judgment" is indeed a consummate
work; as sublime and terrific to all beholders in
relation to the most important interests of humanity,
as it was novel and astonishing to contemporary
painters when first exposed to the public, and has
been since to all admirers of the noblest productions
of genius. This work has been so powerfully de-
scribed, and so admirably commented on by the
great professor of painting in this academy, that
little more need be said at present. Perhaps, in
justice to the originality of conception, it may not
be impertinent to observe, that Lucas Signorelli, a
painter of great merit, some years before Michael
Angelo became eminent, painted a "Last Judgment"
in the cathedral of Orvieto-represented by a multi-
tude of figures standing upright on the fore-ground,
waiting conveyance to their final destinations by
angels or demons in the air above them. Michael
Angelo's composition is the actual accomplishment
of the Judgment. The Divine Son in the midst of
saints and apostles, has the books opened by the
angels before Him, from which every one is judged
according to his works. The Christian charities
}
Modern Sculpture.
257
and the deadly sins,* with the struggles of good and
evil, are most strikingly expressed † in characteristic
groups immediately below the angels, whilst the
dead are rising from their graves in the earth: thus
confining the ultimate horror of the scene to a
smaller space in the lower part of the altar-piece.
i
Michael Angelo's two great compositions in the
Pauline Chapel must not be forgotten: they were, it
is true, the productions of his old age, but they are
the works of a mighty veteran. In the "Conversion
of Saul," the groups of angels surrounding the de-
scending Saviour, whilst calling His apostle, are
luxuriantly ecstatic, and offer an internal testimony
that Correggio's ideas of the celestial ministry, in
his celebrated "Nativity," were probably awakened
by the sight of some sketches from this picture.
The terror and flight of the horses from the fallen
Saul bear evidence to the miracle.
The Martyrdom of S. Peter is a scene of solemn
gloom congenial with the occasion, where his Chris-
tian brethren descend with slow and sorrowing steps
into the excavation, in which the cross is fixed, to
receive the dying apostle's benediction.
The character of Michael Angelo's sculpture is
too lofty and original to be dismissed without farther
notice, although we must acknowledge it has been
criticised with severity, because it rarely possesses
the chaste simplicity of Grecian art. True; but
although Michael Angelo lived long, he did not
Plates XXXIII. and XXXIV. † See Plate XXXVII
a
258
Modern Sculpture.
live long enough to give absolute perfection to all
his works: yet the pensive sitting figure of Lorenzo
di Medici, in the Medici Chapel, is not without this
charm; and the Madonna and Child on the north
side of the same chapel is simple, and is endowed
with a sentiment of maternal affection never found
in the Greek sculpture, but frequently in the works.
of this artist, particularly in his paintings, and that
of the most tender kind.
The recumbent statues in the monument of Julian
di Medici, in the same chapel, of Daybreak or Dawn,
and Night, are grand and mysterious: the characters
and forms bespeak the same mighty mind and hand
evident throughout the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,
and Last Judgment.
The monument of Julius the Second, according to
Michael Angelo's sketch, was magnificently conceived,
and characteristic of this haughty pontiff; but the
composition was reduced to one quarter of the first
intention by succeeding popes, and the statues were
executed by inferior sculptors, excepting Moses. Two
slaves, in the original design, were done in marble;
these are now in the Louvre, admired for disposition
and anatomical perfection.
The character and works of Michael Angelo have
been dwelt on at greater length, because, as his
mental and bodily powers continued far beyond the
usual period of human life, his diligence attained to
so much greater perfection in the principles of art.
Anatomy-the motion and perspective of the figure
Modern Sculpture.
259
-the complication, grandeur and harmony of his
grouping the advantages and facility of execu-
tion in painting and sculpture-his mathema-
tical and mechanical attainments in architecture
and building, exhibited in the many and pro-
digious works he accomplished, demonstrate how
greatly he contributed to the restoration of art.
After the works of the great man just mentioned,
John of Bologna's "Venus coming from the Bath,"
both standing and kneeling, are remarkable for
delicacy and grace. His Mercury rising to fly is
energetic and original; his groups are harmoniously
incatenated.
Benvenuto Cellini deserves praise for his group
of Perseus and Medusa; but the succeeding sculp-
tors in the seventeenth century must be looked on
as having debased, rather than contributed to the
restoration of art. Even Bernini, whose reputation
was so great in his time, can be praised only for his
Apollo and Daphne, and for the ease and nature of
his portraits. His larger works are remarkable for
presuming airs, affected grace, and unmeaning flutter.
Towards the close of the seventeenth century,
however, better knowledge of principles and science,
more attention to ideal beauty, and more careful and
profound study of nature, raised the productions of
this art again to a promise of future success, unknown
since the times of ancient Greece.
By this sketch it will be seen, that the arts rose
to the highest elevation in the free states of Greece-
•
260
Modern Sculpture.
that they were destroyed and buried by the inroads of
barbarism and ignorance-and, that they were restored
in the free states of Italy by the same means which
gave them birth, and reared them to maturity in their
native land.
Painting and sculpture had been practised and
generally admired in Italy from the eleventh century;
but at that time they were without determined pro-
portions for the human figure; without anatomy,
perspective, or the principles of motion.
In the beginning of the fifteenth century, the
increasing power of the Turks had reduced the
eastern empire to little more than the city of Con-
stantinople, when such of the learned Greeks as
dreaded the dominion of this barbarous people sought
shelter in Italy, and brought with them copies of
the ancient classics in science and polite literature;
as they were perfect masters of these in their own
language, they communicated them to the Italians
in Venice, Rome and Florence.
Leonardo da Vinci at this time made studies of
anatomy from the horse, and afterwards a complete
series of anatomical designs from the human subject,
assisted in the dissections by the celebrated anato-
mist Marc Antonio della Torre. Rather before this
time, Michael Angelo engaged in a most diligent
course of this study. Both these great men were
most likely encouraged to undertake a careful appli-
cation to this science, by the publication of John
Guinter of Anderon, one of the masters of Vesalius, in
Modern Sculpture.
261
the year 1536, "the only anatomist before Vesalius
who gives an accurate and full description of the
muscles."
Leon Baptista Alberti had, some years before,
found the necessity of geometrical knowledge in
painting, which Paolo Uccello pursued until he
brought perspective to a perfection that bewitched
several of his contemporaries. In justice to the
ancients, however, it must be acknowledged as an
improvement only (though an exceedingly valuable
one) on Euclid's optics.
The use of perspective in fore-shortening the
human figure has given a marvellous grandeur and
truth to the groups of Michael Angelo. A drawing
by this great master is extant of a figure measured
in the same manner as Vitruvius informs us was
practised by the Greeks, and which has since been
generally used.
Of all the advantages which the sister arts derived
from the restoration of Greek literature, nothing
seems more extraordinary than the following coinci-
dence, and few circumstances relating to the subject
deserve a more serious attention.
Previous to the time of Phidias, the Grecian sculp-
ture, both gods and men, had the same ordinary out-
line of body, limbs, and countenance usually found
in common nature; and it has been remarked, that
the ancient statue of Minerva in the Villa Albani
was characterized as the goddess of wisdom, by an
aged countenance.
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Phidias, however, began the reformation. He
gave dignity to Jupiter from Homer's description.
Succeeding artists continued to refine and elevate
the different orders of divinity, until each personage
of the mythology received the appointed portion
of ideal beauty from selected nature and abstracted
reasoning.
We must remember that Phidias and Plato were
nearly contemporaries; and considering the astonish-
ing influence of this philosopher's discourses and
writings, particularly concerning the power of the
soul's energies in the configuration of the countenance
and person, according to established habits of virtue
or vice-his distinction of the spiritual orders-his
accurate investigation of the good, the perfect, and
the beautiful itself when we consider the high
and extensive veneration in which these discourses
were held, little doubt can be entertained of their
influence in directing the artist's mind in his choice
of subjects, and the expression of qualities for the
perfection of beauty.
The coincidence, then, alluded to above, was that,
in the very zenith of the restoration of the art, in
the time of Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and
Raffaelle, the magnificent Lorenzo di Medici formed
a society of Platonic philosophers, consisting of the
most celebrated scholars of his time and country,
and caused the philosopher's dialogues to be translated
and commented on by Marsilius Ficinus; and as this
work was highly esteemed by the Medici family,
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263
the pontiffs Leo the Tenth, Clement the Seventh,
and Julius the Third, as well as by the learned and
ingenious generally, there can be little doubt that
Plato's reasoning on the beautiful and its character-
istics, supplied as happy assistance in the determina-
tion of sublime and spiritual characters to the
restorers of art in Italy, as it had done to the ancient
Greek artists.
As a brief sketch has been offered of the restora-
tion of art, and some of the circumstances noticed
which contributed to this end, the following question
naturally presents itself: from what complication of
causes did literature and the arts remain in such
a state of concealment and darkness for the long
period of a thousand years, from the fifth to the
fifteenth century?
Though the answer to this question is sufficiently
given in the general history of the times, it is so
much interwoven with the nature of our subject,
that it may not appear impertinent to introduce an
illustrative paragraph, to preserve the connection of
argument.
Whilst the northern people overran Europe in the
seventh century, the Saracens invaded the east,
and established themselves in Egypt, Persia, and
a portion of Greece, where they soon became sen-
sible of the advantages that Christians derived from
science and letters, particularly in commerce and
medicine.
Two successive Saracen princes, Haroun Al Raschid
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and Al Mamon, to obtain the same benefits for
themselves and their subjects, employed Syrian
Christians to translate the Greek authors of highest
reputation into the Arabic language, after which they
caused the original MSS. to be burnt; thus endea-
vouring to secure all the philosophy, mathematics,
medicine, anatomy, geography, history, and poetry
which they had found among the conquered people,
and by the destruction of the MSS. to reduce the
Greeks to the same state of ignorance as that in which
they were themselves previously involved. This
conduct of the Saracens, as they intended, deprived
the Christians of a considerable portion of the re-
maining light, which former calamity and destruc-
tion had spared. Greek authors translated by Syrians
into Arabic, that is to say, from one language foreign
to the translators, into another equally foreign, pro-
duced copies abounding in mistakes, and, wherever
the subject was abstruse, misconception or ignorance
frequently rendered the passage unintelligible. In
this state of things, the conquests of the Saracens
had enabled them to found universities in Europe
and Asia, in which they alone assumed the privilege
of instruction. The confusion and perversion the
ancient authors had suffered by translation, rendered
philosophy the instrument of the Koran, and infected
Christianity with its poison far and wide. Whilst
science remained torpid, painting and sculpture
ceased to be practised, as the representation of the
human figure was forbidden by the Mohammedan
Modern Sculpture.
265
law;
and architecture as practised by the Arabians
and Saracens became an imitation, in the larger
masses and columns, of the declining architecture
of the lower empire, with capitals formed of unmean-
ing flourishes, or dug into numerous small cavities,
because that was more easily effected by unskilful
workmen than a decoration of foliage, from which
that style improperly called Gothic is believed to
have originated in Europe.
Thus were the arts and their principles lost for
so long a period, in addition to the other miseries
of a darkened and afflicted world, until providen-
tially restored in the fifteenth century by men
especially endowed, to whose genius and indefati-
gable labours we must always look with respect and
gratitude.
In considering the impediments that prevented
an earlier manifestation of the progress of modern
art, and which were (by some) believed to be insur-
mountable, the following opinion, prevalent among
the classical admirers of art previous to the time of
Winckelman and afterwards, deserves particular
notice. This was, that the Christian religion afforded
subjects less favourable to the painter or sculptor
than the Pagan mythology: although we hope this
prejudice is diminished, yet it is not so entirely
passed away as to render an inquiry into its merits
wholly useless. We will first, therefore, consider
the question in respect to beauty; next, in respect
to the moral systems; and, lastly, we will consider
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Modern Sculpture.
what has been done, in relation to what is possible
to be done.
In the first place, the ancient theory of personal
beauty is, that it consists in a body and limbs accom-
modated to perform the various functions and offices
of life, under the government of the best principles
of intelligence and will: in this definition the
generality of moderns agree with the ancients. Here,
then, we see that the artist is equally bound by the
modern, as by the ancient practice, to make himself
acquainted by physiological inquiry and philosophi-
cal reasoning, with the most perfect union of form
and sentiment for his studies.
Beauty is to be considered as pertaining to two
orders of creation-the supernatural and the natural.
In the Pagan mythology, the supernatural order con-
sists of superior and inferior divinities, beatified
heroes, and purified spirits. These have been repre-
sented by the ancients with a grandeur, perfection,
and distinctness of character, by which we as imme-
diately distinguish Jupiter from Hercules, or Mer-
cury, as we distinguish Cicero from Demosthenes,
or Socrates from Zeno. The most elevated orders
are dignified in their characters, forms and attitudes,
whilst the younger deities are more remarkable for
beauty in the bloom of youth, and a corresponding
lightness of figure and sprightliness of action; to
these might be added an enumeration of distinctions
both celestial and terrestrial.
But the arts of design may exert their utmost
Modern Sculpture.
267
efforts, could they call even the genius of Phidias
and the grace of Praxiteles to employ their most
exalted conceptions in the most lively execution,
without the reasonable expectation of being per-
fectly satisfied with their own productions, if
employed on the personages and events of Divine
revelation.
The gradations of celestial power and beauty in
the orders of angels and archangels, the grandeur
and inspiration of prophets according to the differ-
ence of mission, and the sanctity of apostles, have
produced examples of grace, beauty, and grandeur
of character, original in themselves, and not to be
found in such variety among the remains of anti-
quity, as in works by the restorers of art in the
fifteenth century.
If we compare the moral systems of Paganism and
Christianity, we cannot fail to wonder that society
was not exterminated in an empire which sacrificed
20,000 gladiators every year, in the amphitheatres
for public diversion. This is but one instance of
the public character of the Romans. Even the
Athenians, so justly admired for arts and letters,
in their moral habits tolerated the most frightful
offences. Besides that contradiction to the love of
liberty in which they defended their country against
foreign invaders, that at the time Athens contained
12,000 free citizens, it contained also 120,000 slaves,
or ten slaves to every free citizen.
But enough of this. We will console ourselves
268
Modern Sculpture.
کا
with the cheering reflection, that some sense of
piety and mutual duty was kept alive by the spirit
of philosophy, under Pagan systems, and felicitate
ourselves upon the enjoyment of that perfect Dis-
pensation which enjoins moral practice to secure.
the happiness of all-allowing an extent of political
freedom beneficial to all, at the same time that it
guards the just rights of every one-which protects
knowledge and science, and bestows on the arts a
moral purity and a perfection of sentiment, arising
from the various duties and charities which belong
to Christianity, and are not to be found under any
other code. These advantages were well under-
stood by Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaelle, and Michael
Angelo. The Holy Families only, by these great
masters, would form a gallery of the greatest beauty
-the most tender and interesting sentiment,
totally unlike any ancient work, and entirely
novel in subject, composition and character. The
same may be said of those noble compositions by
Raffaelle, the Cartoons, which for expression of
Divine and exalted character, grand and extraordi-
nary grouping, may be compared with the noblest
remains of ancient art.
Michael Angelo's merits have been frequently
and ably insisted on by your excellent professor of
painting: but we may be still permitted to observe.
that in the Sistine Chapel, the sublimity of subjects
and characters, the several patriarchal groups of
incomparable interest and beauty, all original, and
Modern Sculpture.
269
unlike any production of antiquity, with
with that
wonderful altar-piece of the Last Judgment, form
together a labour that seems scarcely the work of
man, and stands without a rival in ancient or modern
art.
When we consider what was done by the restorers
of art in the fifteenth century, what incredible im-
provements were made in a comparatively few years,
and remember that these works are still before us
for our instruction, and that we possess, besides, the
invaluable principles and rules used by those distin-
guished persons for conducting their works. In
addition to these advantages, great numbers of the
finest examples of ancient art, including the Hercu-
laneum collection of paintings and the Greek painted
vases, which were hidden in the earth when Raffaelle
and Michael Angelo lived in Italy, have since been
extracted from the oblivion in which they lay, and
have shed additional light on the arts of design.
With these assistances from ancient art and ancient
wisdom, in addition to the beautiful and novel works
of the fifteenth century, and the continual improve-
ments in every branch of science, which give much
more facility to labour, shall we not say with Dr.
Young, in his Essay on Composition,' that con-
sidering all these advantages of principles from so
many preceding ages, with the innumerable works
of genius by which they are illustrated and we are
instructed, that we are properly the ancients,
because these our mental riches are more abundant
6
270
Modern Sculpture.
than have ever been enjoyed before, and possess us
with advantages the ancients had not? We can
employ our imaginations in the sister arts, on the
sublime, the heroic, the severely beautiful personages
and events of the venerable Homer and Hesiod's
poems; we may venture on the terrific or afflicting
scenes of the Greek tragedians; or we may relax our
fancy with the innocent simplicity of the pastoral
poets; but we have subjects also, which, although
unknown to the Greeks and Romans, will employ
the greatest powers with the greatest advantage to
the best faculties and dispositions of man, to his
happiness both present and future. It will be at
once understood that the book which supplies these
subjects is the Holy Bible.
Some have thought, that so many compositions
have already been made, that nothing new can now
be found in it for painting or sculpture; but it
should be remembered that the compositions have
been little more than selections from the common
historical subjects, with few or none from the Pro-
phecies and Psalms, which offer an abundance of
the most sublime and splendid, as well as most
simple and affecting subjects for design. Besides,
when we consider that every subject may be repre-
sented in three striking points of time, the com-
mencement of an action, the heat of the action, and
the conclusion-and also that every action may be
represented in four or five different manners, espe-
cially if it comprehends several figures-under all
Modern Sculpture.
271
these circumstances, we may then safely affirm,
without danger of exaggeration, that many hundred
subjects are to be found in the sacred writings,
which, being ably designed, would be new to the
beholder.
In the number of original subjects, of the noblest
class, derived from revelation, we must remember
the immortal poem of Paradise Lost,' by our
countryman John Milton; concerning which Dryden
wrote familiarly to the Earl of Dorset :-" This
man has out-cut us all, and the ancients too." A
learned Italian (the Marquis Manto) said of the
author, in a Latin distich, that "Greece boasted
her Meonides, Rome her Virgil, and England her
Milton, equal to both." Dr. Johnson, to whom we
are indebted for the inimitable Preface to Shakspeare,
has also done justice to the genius of Milton, and,
though his adversary in religious and political
opinions, has honestly and magnanimously pro-
nounced an encomium on the Paradise Lost,' not
cursorily and generally, but particularly; accom-
panied by reasons on each occasion which flash
conviction on the mind of the reader, and which,
by sagacity of observation and power of expres-
sion, evince the most extraordinary discrimination
of excellence, and of preference, ever offered to the
epic muse.
And yet, it is to be believed, that this Poet,
abounding in subjects and characters of the most
extraordinary kind, has been almost entirely ne-
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Modern Sculpture.
glected in the arts of his own country, whilst his
merits have been vindicated and illustrated by the
liberal mind and genius of a foreigner!*
In future, let us, conscious of the means we possess,
not be negligent in exerting ourselves for posterity
in the same proportion as we feel our own obligations
to former ages.
* Fuseli's Milton Gallery.' Several of the pictures were
engraved for Du Roveray's edition of 'Milton's Paradise Lost,'
1802. Westall and Martin have, since that period, illustrated
the immortal work.
TWO ADDRESSES
DELIVERED AT
THE ROYAL ACADEMY
ON THE DEATH OF
THOMAS BANKS, R.A., 1805,
AND ON
ANTONIO CANOVA, MARQUIS OF ISCHIA,
WHO DIED AT VENICE, OCTOBER, 1822.
BY
JOHN FLAXMAN.
AN ADDRESS
TO THE
PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY
ON THE
DEATH OF THOMAS BANKS,
SCULPTOR.
SIR,
Ir is with feelings of deep regret that I address
you and the several distinguished members of the
Royal Academy this evening. One whose virtues and
talents have been familiar to me for forty years, has
just been separated from this institution for ever:
such is the condition of humanity, whether we are
allied by blood or affection, endeared by rare worth
or eminent endowments. Time and death burst the
bonds and tear the parties from each other, while
this mortal scene of change and fluctuation still
continues. A little space shows the father followed
by the son and grandson, he again by his children,
until all are swallowed in the gulf of eternity;
hence the frequent lamentations on the shortness of
life. But let us beware we do not charge on Infinite
Goodness and Wisdom that which properly belongs
to the misapprehension of man: we are assured, on
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the best authority, that this world is only a state of
trial preparatory to a more perfect final existence
in happiness or punishment. If then the term of
human life is sufficient by mis-application to load
ourselves with misery, or by virtue to prepare for
everlasting bliss, we ought to be well contented with
the dispensations of Providence, and go on cheerfully
towards the better prospect before us. Even in the
progress of human knowledge the length of life seems
better suited to great productions than we are aware
of at the first view, for the labours of Aristotle,
Bacon, Newton, and other luminaries of science,
might incline us to believe that each of them had
lived some ages, if we did not know how many years
old they were at the time of their decease. In the
arts of design, the works of Michael Angelo in
painting, sculpture and architecture, seem more than
could possibly be performed during the lives of two
or three men, and some of the Greek sculpture
which we admire and imitate at this day, seems the
accumulated perfection of centuries, rather than the
production of individual men; thus, although human
life may appear short when considered in some points
of view, yet the industrious and energetic have left.
works which evince the excellence and extent of the
mind, at the same time that they secure the respect
and affection of posterity.
The worthy man of whom we propose to speak,
deserves well to be placed in this class,-his best
works may be considered as standard in sentiment
Death of Thomas Banks.
277
and execution; his memory, therefore, deserves the
respect of this society, and a share of public grati-
tude. But in proceeding, I shall quote the follow-
ing passage from Mr. Rollin's Introduction to the
Arts and Sciences, in which he describes the rank
and value of this kind of merit :-" The history of
arts and sciences, and of the persons who have most
eminently distinguished themselves by them, to speak
properly, is the history of the human genius, which
in some sense does not give place to that of princes
and heroes, whom common opinion places in the
highest degree of elevation and glory. I do not
intend, by speaking in this manner, to strike at the
difference of rank and condition, nor to confound or
level the order which God himself has instituted
amongst men. He has placed princes, kings, and
rulers of states over our heads, with whom He has
deposited His authority, and after them generals of
armies, ministers, magistrates, and all those with
whom the sovereign divides the cares of government ;
the honours paid to them, and the pre-eminence they
possess, are no usurpation on their side. Divine
Providence itself has assigned them their high
stations, and demands submission, obedience and
respect for those that sit in His place.
"But there is also another order of things, and if
I may be permitted to say so, another disposition of
the same Providence, which, without regard to the
first kinds of greatness I have mentioned, establishes
quite a different species of eminence, in which dis-
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An Address on the
tinction arises neither from birth, riches, authority,
nor elevation of place, but from merit and know-
ledge alone. It is the same Providence that regu-
lates rank also of this kind, by the free and entirely
voluntary dispensation of the talents of the mind,
which it distributes in what proportion, and to whom
it pleases, without any regard to the quality or
nobility of the person. It forms, from the assem-
blage of learned of all kinds, a new species of
empire, infinitely more extensive than all others,
which takes in all times and nations, without regard
to age, sex, condition, or climate; here the plebeian
finds himself on a level with the nobleman, the
subject with the prince, nay, often his superior."
As the foregoing quotation gives a fair comparative
view of that class of character to which Mr. Banks
belongs, so it affords a just appreciation of the fol-
lowing particulars of his life and works.
Thomas Banks was born December 29, 1735; at
the age of fifteen he was placed under Mr. Barlow,
an ornament carver, who lived near the late Mr.
Peter Scheemaker, the sculptor. Young Banks, by
means of his acquaintance with Mr. Scheemaker's
pupils, obtained a sight of the studies, and was so
struck with the collection of models and casts, that
he determined to become a sculptor also; and not-
withstanding he was constantly employed from
6 o'clock in the morning till 8 at night for Mr. Bar-
low, such was his enthusiasm, that having obtained
permission, he drew or modelled in Mr. Scheemaker's
Death of Thomas Banks.
279
study every evening, from 8 till 10 or 11. Having
completed his time with Mr. Barlow, at the age of
twenty-three he began his studies from the life at the
academy in St. Martin's Lane; and his determination
to follow sculpture was strengthened by the premiums
offered in the society for the encouragement of arts,
manufactures, and commerce: three of these rewards
he obtained-for a basso-relievo of the death of
Epaminondas, in Portland stone; another, of Hector's
body redeemed, in marble, and a figure of Prome-
theus with the vulture, in clay, the size of life; as
far as memory may be depended on, this figure was
boldly conceived, the composition was harmonious
and compact, the character was natural, and on the
whole it was a fair earnest of his future produc-
tions.
In 1770 he received the gold medal of the Royal
Academy for a basso-relievo of the rape of Proser-
pine, and in consequence was sent to Rome, at the
academy's expense, in 1772. He studied in Italy
seven years, three years on the academy's account
and four years on his own: during this time he
executed a basso-relievo in marble, of the death of
Germanicus, now in the possession of Thomas Coke,
Esq., of Holkham; another, of Caractacus before
Claudius, now at Stowe; another basso-relievo in
plaster, of Thetis rising to comfort Achilles; and
the statue of a Cupid four feet and a half high:
upon the three last-mentioned works I shall presently
trouble you with some further observations. In 1779
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he returned to England, finished the statue of Cupid,
and not being much employed, he embarked for
St. Petersburgh in 1781, and took this statue with him,
which was purchased by the Empress Catherine for
£380 sterling, and placed in a grotto in the gardens
of Czarscozelo.
In 1782 he returned from Russia. His merit now
beginning to be felt and acknowledged, he was imme-
diately engaged in Bishop Newton's monument for
Bow Church in the City; and to the honour of Mr.
Dance, the architect, he strongly recommended
Mr. Banks to execute the monument of Sir Eyre
Coote, for Westminster Abbey, in which he was
accordingly employed by the East India Company.
About this time he produced his statue of Achilles
in the Royal Exhibition, which, besides receiving
the general approbation of the public, was so much
admired by the academy, that the artist was elected
an Associate. Some years after, when chosen an
Academician, he presented to the institution that
fine statue of the Falling Giant which is placed in
the Council Room.
It is not the present intention to relate a complete
chronological catalogue of all this industrious man's
labours; such a collection would be as difficult to
ascertain, as it would be tedious and unintelligible.
in the recital, unless we could refer to a repository
present, for drawings, or models, of the several
works.
It will be more to the present purpose that we
Death of Thomas Banks.
281
Į
:
should point out his most celebrated performances
and their situations, that the hearer may see and
admire them at his own leisure.
After those already mentioned I shall add the
following-
Shakspeare between Painting and Poetry, a colossal
alto-relievo, on the Shakspeare Gallery in Pall Mall.
The trophies on the back front of Somerset House.
The monument of Miss Boothby at Ashburne, in
Derbyshire; this is a beautiful statue of a girl
reposing on a bed. A monument to Mrs. Petree, in
Lewisham Church, Kent; it is a large basso-relievo
of the lady dying, supported by Faith, and attended
by Hope and Charity; her son sits by absorbed in
grief; the marble was exhibited in the Royal Aca-
demy, 1788. The statue of Lord Cornwallis, sent
to Madras, the model of which is in Mr. Banks' study.
The national monument of Captain Burgess, in St.
Paul's Cathedral; the Captain is represented receiv-
ing a sword from Victory; the pedestal is adorned
with naval trophies and figures of captives.
In private life Mr. Banks' moral conduct was
exemplary; he was a good and beneficent son, an
excellent husband, a kind and gentle master, faithful
and just in all his engagements; he was modest con-
cerning his own merits, and generous in his praise
of others, wherever they appeared to deserve com-
mendation; he freely gave professional advice and
instruction to beginners in the arts, and thought on
all occasions, that forming and directing the rising
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An Address on the
generation in the right way, was a duty of too much
importance ever to be neglected. As a member of
this academy he was active and independent; he
obeyed its laws, attended diligently in its offices,
and supported its rights, while his eminent qualifi-
cations made him a perfect judge of its true interests,
and his integrity promoted them to the utmost of his
power.
Such was the academician whom this institution
has lost, and when the character of the man, and the
merits of the artist are considered, it must appear,
that it will be no easy task worthily to fill up the
vacancy.
But in order to form a just estimate of the benefit
which sculpture has derived from his talents in
England, it will be necessary to take a cursory view
of this art in Europe previous to the time when
Mr. Banks' studies commenced, and to observe its
progress with a little more accuracy in our own
country.
In Rome (the centre from which the arts have
emanated for centuries past), about 150 years since,
the taste of Bernini, the Neapolitan sculptor, infected
and prevailed over the Florentine and Roman schools.
He had studied painting, and seems to have been
enamoured with the works of Correggio, who, to
avoid the dryness of his master, Andrea Mantegna,
gave prodigious flow to the lines of his figures, and
redundance to his draperies; of which Bernini's
statues are only caricatures, totally devoid of the
Death of Thomas Banks.
283
painter's ecstatic grace and sentiment. Before he was
twenty years old, he not only composed but com-
pleted a marble group, the size of nature, of Apollo
and Daphne, at the moment the nymph is changing
into a laurel-tree; the delicate characters of the
figures, the sprightly expression, the smooth finish
of the material and the light execution of the foliage,
so captivated the public taste, that M. Angelo was
forgotten, the antique statues disregarded, and no-
thing looked on with delight that was not produced
by the new favourite. It is true, Bernini showed
respectable talents in the group above mentioned,
and had he continued to select and study nature
with diligence, he might have been a most valuable
artist; but sudden success prevented him, and he
never improved; the immense works crowded on
him made him spurn all example, and consider only
how he might send out his models and designs most
speedily. The attitudes of his figures are much
twisted, the heads turned with a meretricious grace,
the countenances simper affectedly, or are deformed
by low passions; the poor and vulgar limbs and
bodies are loaded with draperies of such protruding
or flying folds, as equally expose the unskilfulness of
the artist and the solidity of the material on which
he worked; his groups have an unmeaning con-
nection, and his basso-relievos are filled up with
buildings in perspective, clouds, water, diminished
figures, and attempts to represent such aerial effects
as break down the boundaries of painting and sculp-
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An Address on the
ture, and confound the two arts. Pope Urban the
Eighth was patron of this artist, and so passionately
did he admire and promote his works, that not con-
tented with spending immense sums upon them, he
took the ancient bronze ornaments from the roof in
the portico of the Pantheon, to the amount of 186,000
pounds, for Bernini to cast his bizarre and childish
baldachin for St. Peter's, and then published their
mutual shame in a boasting Latin inscription, affixed
to the building he had robbed so shamefully. Thus
the pope and the sculptor carried all before them in
their time, and sent out a baneful influence, which
corrupted public taste for upwards of one hundred
years afterwards.
Mocho, Bolgio, Quesnoy (commonly called Fia-
mingo), and the inferior sculptors of the time,
adopted the popular taste, which their scholars con-
tinued, and its last puny and insipid efforts are to
be seen in the statues at the Fountain of Trevi, and
monument of Benedict the Fourteenth, executed by
Bracci and Sibylla, in St. Peter's Church, about fifty
years since.
Nearly the same taste in the arts of design which
prevailed in Italy prevailed also in France, as the
latter country was supplied with art, or artists, from
the former; thus when Louis the Fourteenth invited
Bernini to come into France, Bernini answered,
"that he had no need of him, whilst he had such a
sculptor as Puget." Puget's works were somewhat
more dry and detailed than Bernini's; Gerardon's
Death of Thomas Banks.
285
(his contemporary) were more heavy; but they were
all of the same school. The opinion of Bernini con
firmed the monarch, and the same bad taste was
cultivated in France with as much zeal as it was
fostered in Italy, as we see by the works of Bouchar-
don, Boucher, &c., who continued it to the same
time which extinguished its last feeble efforts in
both countries.
Spain, Germany, and the other nations of Europe
receiving their supplies of fine art from the two
countries above mentioned, were consequently in-
fluenced by the same motives and trammelled in the
same taste, which was at this period become so de-
graded, as to be at the point of utter dissolution, had
not some controlling circumstances arisen which
assisted in its revival.
The King of Naples had, in part, cleared the ruins
of Herculaneum and Pompeii, which exposed to view
streets, dwelling-houses, temples, theatres, baths,
and public places, nearly in the same state as when
they were inhabited 1700 years before; these dis-
coveries brought back to the light of day, as it were
by miracle, 700 ancient paintings, and a prodigious
number of bronze statues and busts, of the finest
Greek sculpture.
The success of these discoveries, and the interest
they excited, stimulated the popes, Roman nobility,
and antiquarians, to make excavations wherever
there was a probability their labours would be re-
warded. These researches fortunately recovered
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from oblivion innumerable pieces of exquisite sculp-
ture: many of the most precious formed the Cle
mentine Museum; many enriched the Borghese,
Albani, and other collections; several passed into
Germany, Holland, Sweden, Russia, France and
Spain. England was not insensible to the oppor-
tunity, and several intelligent and spirited indi-
viduals profited by this profusion of ancient treasure.
Such acquisitions roused attention from all quarters;
they were eagerly visited, greedily examined, dis-
sertations and memoirs were written concerning
them, and systematic inquiries into their principles
published.
During all this research and analysis, frequent com-
parisons were made with the modern works, the
remains of the bad taste above mentioned, and which
were found so deficient in every excellence, that they
were universally abandoned to contempt. The in-
terested antiquarian, with sordid cruelty, and to
raise the price of his own commodity, whispered, that
modern talents were unequal to the meanest of these
productions, and sometimes he found a senseless
purchaser, whose only measure of intelligence was
the abundance of his wealth; who would pay dearly
enough for anything that was called ancient, to be
received into the number of the cognoscenti and join
in the outcry against modern ability.
All this however brought in a new and severer
mode of study among the artists, with a more dili
gent attention to nature and the antique, and has
Death of Thomas Banks.
287
enabled some of them to exhibit performances much
more on a level with the merit of those works, than the
insensible can feel or the interested choose to own.
Having marked these phenomena in the hemi-
sphere of art, we should now turn our thoughts more
particularly to England, and see in what manner our
own country was affected by their influence.
Previous to the Reformation, although Italian
artists were employed in ornamenting our churches
and tombs, yet in the old histories, records, and con-
tracts of public buildings, there are abundant names
of English painters and sculptors, who appear to
have been considered able masters in their time,
perhaps not inferior to their Italian fellow-workmen.
But after Henry the Eighth's separation from the
Church of Rome, Elizabeth, proceeding in the Refor-
mation, destroyed the pictures and images in the
churches; strictly forbidding anything of the kind
to be admitted in future, under the severest penalties,
as being Catholic and idolatrous. This entirely pre-
vented the exercise of historical painting, or sculp-
ture in this country; at the very time Raffaelle and
Michael Angelo had brought those arts into the
highest estimation on the Continent. The Rebellion
in 1643 completed what the Reformation had begun ;
the fanatics defaced whatever they could, that the
former inquisition had spared; they broke painted
windows and tombs, carried away the monumental
brass, and church plate, crying, "Cursed be he that
doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully." Thus the
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artist, terrified by the threats of the sovereign, the
denunciation of death or perpetual imprisonment
from the law, and scared by fanatical anathemas,
found that his only hope of safety rested upon
quitting for ever a profession, which enclosed him
on all sides with the prospect of misery and de-
struction.
From this time, and from these causes, we scarcely
hear of any attempt at historical art by an English.
man, until it was again called forth by the benign
influence of the present reign,
When the liberal spirit of Charles the First desired
to adorn the architecture of Whitehall with the
graces of painting, he was obliged to seek the artist
in a foreign land; he had no subject equal to the task.
Rubens and Vandyck were employed, and when
the King's bust was to be done, Vandyck painted
three views of his face, a front, a side, and a three-
quarter, which were sent to Bernini in Rome, by
whom it was executed in marble. If our kings and
nobility had continued to inhabit castles, as in the
feudal times, painting and sculpture would have been
but little wanted; for if the walls of the buildings
were sufficiently strong to resist battery or shot, and
contained retreats to secure the inhabitants from
the enemy, the end of that kind of dwelling was
answered; but in the times succeeding Charles the
First, the improved state of society and kn wledge
had induced the great to build commodious villas
and palaces, in which the architectural distribution
Death of Thomas Banks.
289
made the sister arts absolutely necessary to uni-
formity and completion. Still ingenious foreigners
were employed for this purpose, whilst the native
was treated with contempt, both at home and abroad,
for his inability in those arts which law and religion
had forbidden him to practise.
As this suppression of ability was extremely
impolitic and dishonourable to the country, let us
inquire for a moment on what scriptural authority
the prohibition which occasioned it was supported.
Painting and sculpture were banished from the
churches, that they might not be idolatrously wor-
shipped; and this is just; the Divine law orders they
shall not be worshipped, but utters no prohibition
against the arts themselves: on the contrary, Divine
precept directed images of cherubim to be made,
whose wings should extend over the ark of the
covenant, and cherubim to be embroidered on the
curtains which surrounded it. This decision in
favour of the arts being employed for proper purposes
in sacred buildings is so clear and strong, that it could
only be overlooked, or opposed by infatuated bigotry.
A succession of foreign artists, as has been ob-
served, were employed in almost every work of
importance, from the time of Charles the First until
within forty years of the present day. The painters,
Vandyck, Lely, Verrio, Kneller, and Casali, suc-
ceeded to each other; as did also the sculptors,
Cibber, Gibbons, Scheemaker, Rysbrack, Bertocini,
Roubiliac.
D
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This variety of artists (sculptors are more parti-
cularly meant) from different countries, French,
Flemings, and Italians, sometimes brought the taste
of John Goujon or Puget, sometimes a debased imi-
tation of John of Bologna and the Florentine
school, and sometimes the taste of Bernini; but
never a pure style and sound principle.
After the Reformation, the chief employment of
sculpture was in sepulchral monuments, which
during the reigns of James the First and his son
Charles, were chiefly executed by Frenchmen or
Flemings, scholars of John Goujon, still regulated
by the principles their master had acquired from
Primaticcio, the pupil of Raffaelle. Some of these
works have great merit, particularly the tombs of
Sir John Norris and Sir Francis Vere,* in the same
chapel with Roubiliac's monument of Lady E.
Nightingale in Westminster Abbey.
The rebuilding of London, in the reign of Charles
the Second, gave some employment to sculpture.
Cibber's works are the most conspicuous of that
period; his mad figures on the Bedlam gates have a
natural sentiment, but are ill drawn; his bas-relief
on the pedestal of London Monument is not ill
conceived, but stiff and clumsy in the execution; hist
clothed figures in the Royal Exchange strut like
dancing-masters, and have the importance of cox-
combs. But with all his faults, what he left is far
preferable to the succeeding works. The figures on
*Sce Plate LI.
Death of Thomas Banks.
291
St. Paul's Church, and the Conversion of the Saint
in the pediment, partake strongly of Bernini's
affectation; and from that time to the establishment
of this academy, we must expect to see every piece
of sculpture more or less tinctured with the same
bad taste, especially the sepulchral monuments, to
which, after the statues and basso-relievos last
noticed, we must chiefly look for the progress of
sculpture amongst us.
It will be proper here to remark, that all the
Grecian sculpture was arranged in three classes:
the group of figures; the single statue; and alto-
or basso-relievo. The first two classes were suited
to all insulated situations, and the latter to fill
panels in walls. These classes not only serve all
architectural purposes, but adorn, harmonize, and
finish its forms; every attempt to make other
combinations between sculpture and architecture will
be found unreasonable, and degrading to one as well
as the other. After the statues and basso-relievos
last noticed, we must return again to sepulchral
monuments for the progress of sculpture, and here
the taste of Bernini (whose character and works we
have already noticed, and who seems to have thought
that he had the privilege of equally subverting art
and nature in his works,) again obtrudes itself. I
shall mention the following instances, although I am
afraid their extreme absurdities will prevent such of
those from believing the descriptions as have not
seen the things themselves. In the area before the
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Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, he raised a
bronze elephant on a pedestal, and on the elephant's
back placed an Egyptian obelisk: the architecture of
the east window in St. Peter's Church he has loaded
with many tons weight of stucco clouds, out of
which issue huge rays, intended for light or glory,
of the same materials, but long and thick enough for
the beams of a house.
Extravagances of this kind, and many others that
he has committed, have fortunately had little effect
upon us, because some have been necessarily con-
nected with Catholic churches, and others introduced
in fountains, which are frequent in hot countries:
we were, however, the dupes of his school until
native genius gained sufficient judgment and strength
to correct its errors, and supply a better style of art.
Before the time of Bernini, two kinds of sepulchral
monuments prevailed, one from the highest antiquity,
which was a sarcophagus, either plain or covered
with basso-relievos, with or without the statue
of the deceased on its top. The other kind was
introduced by Michael Angelo, in the Mausoleum of
Julius the Second, and those of the Medici family, in
the Chapel of St. Lorenzo at Florence. In these the
sarcophagus, as in the former kind, was suited to the
niche or architecture against which it was placed,
and surmounted or surrounded by statues of the
deceased and his moral attributes.
Both these practices were rational and proper,
the one for plainer, the other for more magnificent
Death of Thomas Banks.
293
tombs. This branch of sculpture was of too much
importance to be neglected by Bernini; he stripped
it of its ancient simple grandeur, leaving it neither
group, statue, basso-relievo, sarcophagus, or trophy,
but an absurd mixture of all, placed against a dark
marble pyramid, and thus sacrificing all that is
valuable in sculpture to what he conceived a pic-
turesque effect.
The pyramid is, from its immense size, solid base,
diminishing upwards, a building intended to last
thousands of years: how ridiculous, then, to raise
a little pyramid of slab marble, an inch thick, on a
neat pedestal, to be the background of sculpture
belonging to none of the ancient classes, foisted into
architecture, with which it has neither connection
nor harmony, and in which it appears equally dis-
gusting and deformed! The first monuments he
raised of this kind, were two in the Chigi Chapel,
in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in Rome :
this novelty soon found its way into every country
in Europe; our Westminster Abbey is an unfortunate
instance of its prevalence. Rysbrack and Roubiliac
spread the popularity of this taste in England; but,
as the first of these sculptors was a mere workman,
too insipid to give pleasure, and too dull to offend
greatly, we shall dismiss him without farther notice.
The other deserves more attention. Roubiliac was
an enthusiast in his art, possessed of considerable
talents. He copied vulgar nature with zeal, and
some of his figures seem alive; but their characters
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are mean, their expressions grimace, and their forms
frequently bad: his draperies are worked with great
diligence and labour, from the most disagreeable
examples in nature, the folds being either heavy or
meagre, frequently without a determined general
form, and hung on his figures with little meaning.
He grouped two figures together (for he never
attempted more) better than most of his contem-
poraries; but his thoughts are conceits, and his
compositions epigrams. This artist went to Italy,
in company with Mr. Pond, an English painter: he
was absent from home three months, going and
returning, stayed three days in Rome, and laughed
at the sublime remains of ancient sculpture!! The
other sculptors of his time were ordinary men: their
faults were common, and their works have no beauty
to rescue them from oblivion.
Thus we have seen the nobler efforts of painting
and sculpture driven out of the country by reform-
ing violence, and puritanical fury; sculpture reduced
to the narrow limits of monument-making, and by
these means degraded to a sort of trade; and this
department supplied from the corrupt source of
Bernini's school, and not unfrequently through the
worst mediums.
In this state the art continued, until the establish-
ment of the Royal Academy settled a course of study
both at home and abroad, which developed the
powers of English genius, till then unknown to the
natives, and denied by foreigners.
Death of Thomas Banks.
295
•
Such was the low state of the arts when Mr.
Banks began his studies, which, although not regular
under any sculptor, were attended with some peculiar
advantages. He was instructed in the principles of
architecture, and practised drawing under his father,
who was an architect; this enabled him soon to form
a correct taste in that art, and displayed itself in
the beauty and propriety of his architectural forms
in the works he has left; it besides taught him how
to introduce and combine sculpture with architecture,
advantageously to both. Being placed under an
ornament carver gave him a facility in his own
ornamental sculpture, which may be observed in
some flat foliage on Dr. Watts' monument in
Westminster Abbey. Another advantage, and per-
haps not the least, was that, having his opinions
unbiassed from the sculptors of that time, he escaped
being tinctured with the predominant manners of
their work. He studied nature diligently for
himself, and copied the antique to form his taste;
his constant attention to the Admiranda and Stuart's
Athens, had initiated him in the Greek style and
composition, to which his academic drawings and
models had added an extensive knowledge of the
human figure and its conformation, parts, proportions
and perspective, under the different circumstances of
position, action, light and shade. During his resi-
dence in Rome, the ancient groups and statues, the
basso-relievos, and the works of Michael Angelo in
the Sistine Chapel, roused every faculty of his soul,
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and urged him on to labour night and day, in a noble
emulation of those miracles of art and wonders of the
world: what was the consequence we shall see in
our examination of the two basso-relievos and the
statue of Cupid before us, which are specimens of
his employments in Italy.
The Cupid catching a butterfly on his wing, is
rendered highly interesting to the mind by its phi-
losophic allusion to the power of love, divine or
natural, on the soul; nothing can be more graceful
than the attitude; the outline is finely varied in the
different views; the softness of the form, the cha-
racter of the face, and the adjustment of the hair,
are classically beautiful. The basso-relievo of Carac-
tacus before Claudius, is composed on the principle
of those on the ancient sarcophagi, of which many
are to be seen in Rome, and other parts of Europe;
the subject is historical, but the characters are heroic,
and a dramatic gradation of passion is expressed in
a few figures from the patriot's undaunted attitude,
you perceive he is saying, "Nor wouldest thou have
disdained to receive me with articles of peace, because
I am descended of noble progenitors, and I have
ruled over many warlike nations," whilst the emperor
listens with attentive respect.
The basso-relievo of Thetis rising to comfort
Achilles,* is of the epic class; (to follow our en-
lightened professor of painting in the application
of Aristotle's poetics to the arts of design) the sen-
* 1-359. "She rose from the dark sea like mist."
Death of Thomas Banks.
297
own.
timent and character are beautiful and pathetic: the
composition is so unlike any work ancient or modern,
that the combination may be considered as the artist's
The harmony of composition in the parts,
which strengthens the unity of sentiment, is striking
in these two, as well as several other works of this
artist, and may be reckoned among the acquisitions
which our sculpture has received from his talents
and industry; nor is this our only obligation; he
laboured in every department, and the whole art of
sculpture has profited by his means. Before his
time only one English sculptor (Mr. Nollekens) had
formed his taste on the antique, and introduced a
purer style of art; since then, sculpture has been
gradually emerging from its state of barbarity,
simple emblems have supplied the place of epigram-
matical conceits, and imitations of the fine heads
and beautiful outlines of the antique statues have
succeeded to lifeless blocks, or caricature copies of
common nature.
Another work by Mr. Banks deserves particular
attention from its intrinsic merit, which, like the
two above mentioned, is unequalled by similar pro-
ductions of the present day in France or Italy, and
may rank with this class of sculpture among the
works of antiquity: I allude to Mrs. Petree's monu-
ment in Lewisham Church. It was exhibited in this
academy in 1795, under the title of "The death of
Eloisa;" the composition has been described above,
and it is to be regretted that an idea can only be
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given here by a slight sketch, which conveys but
little of its merit. As the situation represented is
the most important to humanity, so the expression is
most powerfully penetrating; the dying woman is
piously resigned, and the theological virtues which
surround the bed are such as you might expect to
see-the departed good, eminent for those qualities
in a better state of existence: the son is an admirable
human figure absorbed in grief. This basso-relievc
is affixed on one side of the organ, companion to one
on the other side, both being so placed as to be
panels, and consequently regular architectural deco-
rations to the wall; by which means, together with
the excellence of the work, the church becomes a
museum of sacred sculpture.
This example is worthy to be followed; architec-
ture and sculpture should always be united in this
manner. The monumental encouragement given to
sculpture in England affords noble occasions for
the artist to exercise his powers. I should deserve
but little credit for saying the subjects of Holy Writ
are the finest that can be treated. Michael Angelo
and Raffaelle have long since proved them to be so.
The Last Judgment, the Patriarchal Families, the
Prophets, the Conversion of S. Paul, and the Cruci-
fixion of S. Peter, by the former, and the Cartoons
of the latter, are the first of human productions.
These are fit subjects for the sculptor's employment,
which ranges through whatever is great or good in
the natural or intelligible worlds, extending beyond
Death of Thomas Banks.
299
the limits of time and space, and comprehending all
orders of created beings. But what man shall be
equal to the task? We may however exert all our
faculties in the most delightful and profitable manner
by such exercises in our art; we may honour our
Creator, and make ourselves and our fellow-creatures
happier and better.
AN ADDRESS
TO THE
PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY,
ON THE
DEATH OF SIGNOR CANOVA,
MARQUIS OF ISCHIA.
THE arts of design, when considered in an extensive
view, will be seen in continual fluctuation, like
all other human concerns, for as states and empires
gradually rise to power by the wisdom of institu-
tions, the equity of laws and the union of interests,
and are overthrown by the opposite causes; so by
the same process of rise and decay or fluctuation,
the history of painting, sculpture and architecture
may be described, and their excellence or depression,
progress or extinction, accounted for. The painter
or sculptor, however, is little more concerned in the
general fluctuations above mentioned, as connected
with political history or the general disposal of
human affairs, than any other member of the great
family of mankind; he is much more interested in
the productions of particular periods, and such
maxims and studies of particular men as may be
useful in forming his own: the diligent will not be
An Address on the Death of Signor Canova. 301
slow in seizing the means to advance himself in the
road he is going, by the maxims and practice of those
who have gone before him: by those who have gone
before him, are meant the venerated dead, from whom
our most important instructions have been obtained
by the schools they have established, and the rich
treasury of accumulated works they have bequeathed
to posterity, valuable for the double purpose of
instruction and stimulation. Such benefits must be
always remembered with grateful acknowledgments,
and those from whom they were received looked up
to with a pious regard.
•
Such reflections were suggested by the recent
departure from this life of the celebrated sculptor,
ANTONIO CANOVA. But, notwithstanding this distin-
guished man is now removed from us by the course
of earthly events, in accordance with the dispensa-
tions of Providence, we are consoled by the recollec-
tion that his genius added rays to the lustre of his
own time, and his virtues equally with his works
will claim the admiration of succeeding ages.
Signor Canova was so generally celebrated and
esteemed throughout Europe, as well as by the
members of this academy, that it may be presumed
not only that no apology need be offered for the
introduction of his name, but on the contrary, not to
have offered some eulogy on the solemn occasion,
would have been disrespectful to the feelings of the
Royal Academy, and unjust to the memory of the
illustrious deceased.
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This sculptor, in addition to his other distinguished
and amiable qualities, has a claim to the affectionate
regard of Englishmen in particular, not only by his
strong attachment to the institutions and manners
of our country, but by his polite and careful atten-
tions to our countrymen in Italy, of whom I believe
it may be truly said, that no English traveller ever
sought a reasonable service from Signor Canova in vain.
The members of this academy, I know, retain a
lively remembrance of the zeal, activity, and industry
with which Canova procured and forwarded several
scarce groups and statues in the noble collection of
casts lately bestowed on the schools of this institu-
tion, by the munificence of his Majesty King George
the Fourth.
In consequence of the mutual friendly regard
subsisting between the President and Members of
the British Academy, and the late President or
Prince of the Roman Academy, I shall presume to
lay before you a compendious sketch of Siguor
Canova's life as a sculptor and a man.
Antonio Canova was born in the territory of
Bassano, in the Venetian State; his family was
employed in agriculture, and he was placed under a
sculptor in the neighbourhood, from whom he learned
the rudiments and manual labour of his profession;
this was all that was requisite for a beginning to the
career of young Antonio, his own ardent spirit and
indefatigable industry supplied every deficiency.
After staying a few years with his master, he sought
Death of Signor Canova.
303
improvement in the galleries and museums of Rome
A group of Daedalus and Icarus gave the first
indication of his talents, and another of Theseus and
the Minotaur procured his engagement, first for the
monument of Pope Ganganelli, in the Church of
the St. S. Apostoli, and afterwards for that of Pope
Rezzonico, in St. Peter's Church. Whilst engaged
in these works he also produced statues of Cupid and
Psyche, and a Magdalene-the latter was presented
to a church in Bassano; a group of Cupid and
Psyche, in the possession of Lord Gwydir; a group
of Hercules casting Lycus into the sea; a Theseus
and Centaur; with other works of inferior note.
During the time Bonaparte governed France, Signor
Canova was called to Paris to model his portrait, as
an exemplar for two colossal marble statues, one of
which is at Apsley House, in the possession of his
Grace the Duke of Wellington. While he remained
in Paris, one day he attended Bonaparte in the
Museum of Antiques, and they were both admiring
a fine bust of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, when
Bonaparte inquired how it happened that there
were found so many busts of this emperor? Canova
replied, he was a good and just prince, therefore
everybody loved him, and for this reason his busts
are found in all the cities, towns and villages of his
dominions. Such was the respect the French ruler
entertained for the sculptor's honesty, as well as his
talents, that he was permitted to speak with more
freedom than the mareschals of the imperial court.
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There will be no need, on the present occasion, to
detail a correct list of his works; prints of them all
may be seen in the collections of the metropolis;
yet we must not deny ourselves the gratification of
noticing some of the more distinguished. Of this
description is the group of the Three Graces in the
Duke of Bedford's possession, and a beautiful re-
cumbent statue of a Nymph, executed by order of
his present Majesty King George the Fourth.
In the number of monuments by this distinguished
sculptor, the most considerable is justly the most.
esteemed; it was erected at the expense of the present
Emperor of Austria to his sister, an archduchess.
The design is simple, and nobly expressive; a
pyramid raised on three steps presents an entrance
to the tomb; the widow, the aged, and the helpless
child in tears, are bearing flowers to the shrine of
their benefactress, while the Genius of the Empire
sits on the steps in sorrow.
We are sanctioned by the high authority of our
president's opinion, for believing this to be one of
Canova's most successful productions.
In considering the style of this artist's sculpture,
we shall at once acknowledge a poetic fancy which
gave a luminous interest to his conversation, equally
with his compositions; his figures are graceful, his
forms grand, muscle, tendon or bone most naturally
distinguished, and the flesh seems yielding to the
touch, by an execution as powerful as delicate.
It has been observed by some that in Canova's
Death of Signor Canova.
305
sculpture, we sometimes seek in vain for the severe
chastity of Grecian Art; this may indeed not be
destitute of some foundation in truth, but we must
not look for complete perfection in the works of
imperfect man; he is most perfect in whom the
fewest faults are discoverable.
Canova, in early life, must have received a strong
bias from the imposing and luxuriant paintings of
the Venetian school, but many and great excellencies
counterbalance, and as it were annihilate, trivial and
venial faults.
Canova the sculptor is known to all, but the great
qualities and moral virtues of Canova are known to
comparatively few; yet we cannot fail to dwell on
these also with equal delight and profit: his inde-
fatigable industry and entire devotion to his art, at
the same time that they supplied his most agreeable
occupation, and increased his rich legacy of valuable
works bequeathed to posterity, afforded him the
more ample means of gratifying his benevolence and
generosity; he was provident for his relations,
liberal to his friends, and extensively charitable to
the poor; his kindness to his family was equally
becoming the Christian and the philosopher; he
rendered such assistance as increased their comfort,
without raising them above the sphere of life in
which they were most useful to society. Canova's
mind possessed an acute perception, a vivid imagi-
nation, a ready decision, and a strong sense of right,
which, together with those mental qualities more
X
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immediately engaged in his profession, he cultivated
to the utmost of his power; and in order to make
the greatest possible advantage of his time, some
person generally read to him while he was at work,
and by this means he became acquainted, not only
with all the best Italian literature, but also the best
classical authors, philosophers, poets, and historians,
together with many eminent productions of modern
Europe. Such a stock of knowledge enlightened his
views in general intercourse or private contemplation,
matured his studies, and gave an additional charm
to his conversation.
We must not pass over an heroic act of service
to his country which deserves to be recorded with
the great actions of any age. When it was deter-
mined that the magnificent collections of ancient
sculpture should be returned to Rome, Signor
Canova was despatched to superintend the package
and conveyance, and although he was opposed by
every artifice and discouragement, and repeatedly
threatened with assassination, he persevered with so
much spirit and resolution that he surmounted all
opposition, and sent them all back in a week. On
this occasion he pathetically blessed the generosity
of the English nation, without whose powerful
assistance and effectual patronage he acknowledged
those collections would never have been returned
to Italy. Upon Signor Canova's return to Rome
after the redoubted achievement of re-establishing
her divinities and heroes in the station they had
Death of Signor Canova.
307
:
held so many ages, he was welcomed by the Roman
people with universal applause and festivity: the
Sovereign Pontiff received him with honour and
gratitude he created the sculptor Marquis of Ischia,
and to enable him to support his new dignity, gave
him a pension of three thousand crowns. Canova
returned his dutiful thanks for the patent of nobility,
but concerning the pension, he declared, like a
disinterested patriot, "that he had always maintained
himself by his labour, and he trusted with the
Almighty's support he should continue to do so as long
as he lived; he should therefore apply the whole
3000 crowns per annum to the purposes adopted in
the papal academy, for the encouragement of painting
and sculpture, and for the assistance of young men in
their studies."
As Signor Canova had never married, and con-
sequently had no children looking to him for pro-
vision, he indulged the pious desire of building a
church in his native country, which he intended to
decorate with sacred subjects of statues and basso-
relievos in his latter years, and thus dedicate his last
efforts to Him that gave him being. For this pur-
pose he determined the architectural design, and
calculated the expense of the building at about
£12,000 sterling. In the progress of the work he
took a journey to see the state of its forwardness,
in which his expectations were disappointed; to
which was added the cruel mortification that double
the money he had calculated to lay out would be
308 An Address on the Death of Signor Canova.
required to complete the church-a sum, perhaps,
not in his power to command. However that might
be, the digestive powers ceased in his system;
medicine was tried, but afforded no relief; he pre-
pared for his end with resignation and fortitude,
and passed in Christian hope to a better life.
I have thus presumed to produce before you a
compendious sketch of a man distinguished by rare
talents and rare virtues, as little clouded by defect
or failure as is generally to be found among the
worthiest of the sons of men.
Such a character will be contemplated with equal
pleasure and profit by the Members of this Academy.
Our time will not be lost in the study of talents
and qualities which rendered their possessor the
delight and pride of his country, and whose example
affords valuable materials towards forming distin-
guished men in the rising generation.
( 309 )
..
··
ACHILLES, shield of
Agesander.
Ages of art
Ajax
Ajax (the fighting gladia-
114
tor) ..
Alcamenes
93, 230, 237
All Souls' College, Oxford 44
Amazons and Athenians,
battle of..
Amiens Cathedral
Amphion
Anatomy, as known to early
Greeks
Anatomical form and or-
ganisation of animals 126
Anaxagoras on perspective
Ancient art
Ancient Britons, absence of
70
215
..
art among
Antigone
Apollo Alexicacos (Belvi-
25, 135, 232
dere)
Apollodorus
233
247
Apollonius..
33
33
192
7
233
··
··
··
··
··
··
..
··
INDEX.
..
••
..
..
..
..
•
..
..
··
··
Aristotle, patron of art
Art in service of religion..
Art, real end of
Athamas
Athenadorus
..
:
PAGE
13
233
217
233
235
41
233
73
34
233
Atreus..
Aylmer de Valence, monu-
ment of
··
..
··
..
193
254
275
Bacchus, different forms of
representation
Bacchus and the Faun
Battle of the Standard 161, 255
Banks, Thomas, address on
the death of
Beauty
Beauty, principles of …. 131
Bernini
259, 282, 291
Bible, progress of art trace-
able in
Bible, subjects for composi
tion in
125
Bryaxis
Buschetto
Buonarotti, see
Angelo.
Busts
..
..
•
··
..
••
..
··
··
··
270
226
247, 249
Michael
··
..
Cadwallo, King.
Calamis
Cambridge, fragments found
PAGR
233
··
at
Camper, Professor
··
Canova, Signor, address on
the death of
43
54
194
35
232
37
127
300
310
Index.
PAGE
Caractacus before Claudius 296
Cellini, Benvenuto
259
Chares..
225
290
247
85
222
225
143
..
•
Cibber
Cimabue
Cleanthes
Colossal statues
Colossus at Rhodes
Composition
Composition, distinction be-
..
163
151
tween ancient and mo-
dern subjects..
Composition, rules of
Compositions, Greck.. 147, 157
Compositions, Romau
Conversion of Saul
Coote, Sir Eyre, monument
148
257
of
Cretan Labyrinth
Crouchbank,
monument of
Crusades, influence on art
Cupid and Psyche
··
..
..
•
..
··
on
Dying gladiator
··
..
•
•
•
..
··
··
..
..
··
..
•
..
·
..
··
..
··
Dædalus
Dædalus, group of
Democritus, wrote on per-
spective
Diana, head of
Diponus
Discobulus
Donatello
..
··
Edmund,
..
..
··
..
··
··
Doric style
Drapery
Drapery, various forms of
..
folds
••
··
..
..
··
Drapery, transparent
Drapery, effect of motion
··
..
··
280
81
43
39
234
80
303
70
35
83
231
250
183
198
201
204
201
232
Edward I., monuments in
··
reign of
Egyptian antiquities, an-
cient authors on
··
Egyptians, historical art
..
..
..
..
among
64
Egyptian sculpture, 54, 57, 217
Egyptian statues, imita-
tions of
Electra
Elephantis, temple at
Ellora, temple at
Endæus
··
English sculpture
Epaminondas, death of
Etruscan sculpture
Euknemon
Euphranor
Expression, indicating feel-
ing
··
··
··
..
··
..
··
..
··
..
Gloucester Cathedral
Goths, art in time of
Grecian sculpture
••
··
··
••
Falling giant
Florence, cathedral of
Form, harmony and opposi-
tion in
··
..
..
..
Ganymede ..
Garments, different sorts
··
of
Ghiberti, Lorenzo
Giovanni di Bologna, school
of ..
··
. 280
250
·
PAGE
··
42
··
65
..
65
233
67
67
82
32
279
100
229
185
129
208-9
251
155
232
111
43
196
78
140
..
Hand, proportions of
Henry VI., works worthy of
notice in reign of ..
Henry VIII., destruction of
monuments in reign of 48
44
··
Index.
311
Herculane im .
Hercules, Farnese
Herodotus, information on
Egyptian art
Hindu sculpture
Hipparchus
Holbein
Homer, heroes of
Homer's Iliad
··
··
••
..
..
Karnac, palace of
Laocoon
Last Judgment
Leonardo da Vinci
Light and shadow
Lorenzo di Medici
..
..
··
Milton..
Minerva, at Athens
Minerva, head of
Minerva, statue of
Howe, Earl..
Human figure, proportions
of
..
··
•
··
··
·
..
··
··
Jewish art
Juno
Jupiter, sitting statue of, in
Babylon ..
55
Jupiter Olympius, at Elis, 91, 223
Jupiter, observations
bust of
on
134
..
..
··
•
··
·
··
··
··
..
•
..
··
••
··
Martyrdom of St. Peter 257
Memnon, sitting statue of,
at Thebes
Metamorphoses .
Metopes, at Athens
Michael Angelo..
Michael Angelo, character
and works
..
..
PAGE
285
232
233, 237
255
··
56
175
116
51
132
149
9
70
155
258, 262
••
122
••
··
55
137
61
231
252, 292
57
7
258
271
225
35
91
Minerva, temple of
Minerva's shield
Modern sculpture
Monier
··
..
··
Nelson, Lord, monument of
Nicolas
..
Niobe
Norris, Sir John, tomb
of
..
•
•
..
44
..
••
..
Ocean and great rivers
137
101
On science
Orestes
233
Outline, characteristics of.. 109
**
··
..
Polycletus of Sicyon..
Pompeii
Praxiteles
Puget
Pythagoras, school of..
··
..
..
Pamphilus ..
Paradise Lost
Parrhasius
Patroclus
Pauline Chapel
Perseus and Andromeda
Persepolis, palace of Per-
sian kings
Perseus and Medusa..
Perspective, as known to
the ancients
Petree, Mrs., monument of
281, 297
Phidias
88, 262
Philocles, introduced out-
line among Greeks
85
Pisa, cathedral of 244, 247
Plato, quotation from Dia-
logue of Phaedrus on the
beautiful..
··
9
249, 250
234
..
..
..
..
..
..
160
271
185
233, 235
257
237
..
..
..
..
··
..
..
•
PAGE
90
145
240
246
+
290
132
231
. 285
93, 230
284
218
..
•
··
66
259
71
312
Index.
Quatremère de Quincy
237
Rhodes, school of
Rollin's Introduction to
the Arts and Sciences'.. 277
Roma Subterranea 245, 246
Roman dress favourable to
art
Roman remains in Britain
Roubiliac
Rubens
..
··
··
··
..
•
•
··
Satyrs
Saxon painting and sculp-
ture
Scopas
Scyllis..
Shakspeare..
Sistine Chapel
Sphinx, colossal, near Great
Pyramid..
Statues, colouring of
Steevens the Hollander
St. Mary's Church, War-
wick
Style
Style, different characters
of
··
••
··
··
••
··
:
··
..
..
37
36
290, 293
51, 288
••
..
··
..
..
••
..
..
..
PAGE
188
..
137
38
234
83
281
255
57
189
51
45
168
171, 179
Tafi, Andrea
Theseus, temple of
Thetis
Torrell, W. (Torelli).
Tritons
Vandyke
Venus
..
··
Zethus..
Zeuxis
Ugolino, Andrea (called
Pisano)
Urban, Pope
York Cathedral
Young, Dr...
··
..
..
:
..
·
..
··
:
··
♦♦
··
··
Venus, of Enidos
..
230
Vere, Sir Francis, tomb of 290
Vitruvius, rules of Greek
art
•
··
Wells, cathedral church
Westminster Abbey .
Westminster Abbey, Lady
··
Chapel
..
..
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
..
··
··
··
51, 288
1 138
••
••
••
..
PAGX
247
235
296
42
137
··
250
281
..
70
39
43
46
43
269
233, 237
185

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